Chapter Four
Stacking the Odds
And the strict lord Death bids them to dance.
-The Seventh Seal-
73rd Harmony Games, Victory Tour
Azula gazes at the people dancing but has little to no desire to join them.
This year's victor does not seem much more enthused than Azula. This year it was a twelve-year-old for the first time in decades… and she was blind on top of that. She has attracted a level of attention to rival Azula's three years ago. The girl liked it at first, grinning and gloating and being that type of brash celebrity the Capitol loves, but now she seems exhausted after her tour and the incessant cameras and fans.
While Azula knows she should not be on the sidelines, she feels queasy for no decent reason. There is just something wrong about tonight but she cannot quite place a finger on what.
She then thinks her nerves might have had a reason when she can smell metal and roses, blood and flowers, the man who decided to be her father after being absent from her life only once she had won the Harmony Games.
"The party is nice," Azula says softly and President Ozai Shinohai does not seem to be here for small talk.
That creeping chill overwhelms Azula again.
"I would like to make you an offer," her father says and she nods. "I want a change before the Quarter Quell. I want a new gamemaker."
"That's two years away," Azula replies, although she figures the games have to be planned long ahead of time.
He ignores her and states, "Correct. I want a new gamemaker this year."
"I have no suggestions." Pause. "You're asking me? You're asking me."
Ozai nods once and it is enough to make Azula feel panic surging through her blood. She does not know what reason he would have to make her make the games but it cannot be a good one in any world.
Azula can only ask, "Why would you want that? I have to be underqualified."
"I think you are perfectly qualified. This is a wonderful offer, and you should take it," Ozai says and Azula realizes it is not an offer but an imposition.
"I don't know," Azula says without meaning to. She should say yes, but she cannot say yes.
Azula has a shred of humanity left in her. Even if she can barely see anything human in her eyes anymore.
She runs away that night, even though she has no place to go.
She tells him just what she thinks about how he fucked up her childhood with his selfishness.
She does not know why she is not killed.
All he says is, "This Reaping Day, the odds won't be in your favor."
Katara frowns as she watches that cute escort girl trip on her face and instantly hop up and continue her flight from the room. That girl has only been working for the past two years, and it makes Katara feel pangs of guilt to see her so scared.
"You didn't," Mai says to Azula and Katara suddenly realizes why Ty Lee was running. "You didn't have a one-night stand with your district escort."
"I did," Azula replies, having no idea why she is being honest. She shrugs and tries to play it off as unimportant.
"You have to face her for years, you know?" Mai has to admit that this is mildly amusing, even if it sucks for Ty Lee.
Azula bites down on her lower lip and debates whether she should get up and chase Ty Lee or not. She focuses on the screen and sees Asami walking with the career pack, an inexplicable glint of hope in her emerald eyes. Maybe Azula can abandon her for a few minutes.
"It was a tense night," Azula weakly protests and Katara's horrible eyes widen and she laughs her horrible laugh and Azula hates her so much.
"You slept with that poor girl?" Katara asks through her uncontrollable giggles.
"Yes," Azula replies coldly, before standing up and pursuing the escort who should definitely not have been treated like a less savory type of escort.
Prompted out of spite for Katara, she strides through the cold white room now adorned with a board of rapidly changing odds, bets and conditions, juxtaposed to a wide screen playing the main feed of the Harmony Games that everyone sees.
The buzz of conversation from schmoozing mentors and swooning sponsors is now easy for Azula to ignore; it is white noise as she tries to focus on Asami.
Azula finds Ty Lee in the ladies' room, which is nicer than even the homes in the Victor's Village. The walls are painted with beautiful pre-war scenes from the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, even the Water Tribes. Atop of the plush and spotless carpet are soft sofas, lounges and endless mirrors that are in perpetual use by the sponsors and some mentors. A few crisp issues of Capitol Couture are on the counter, and the bathroom itself is nowhere in sight.
And there, at one of the mirrors of course, is the District 2 Escort.
She is… talking to the District 4 Mentor? Azula imagined her surrounded by a giggling gaggle of girls in bright yellow and pink.
"Hey, kid," Kya says with a smile that makes her lip wrinkle. "We were just talking about you."
"Kya," hisses Ty Lee and Azula is rendered speechless by this zany scene. She has seen strange things living in the Capitol for nearly five years, but not as strange as this.
"What? You didn't say she couldn't know," Kya says, laughing. She sets the cotton balls back on the table so Ty Lee can finish dabbing her make-up on her own. "I'm sure she figured it out, which is why she's here."
"I had no idea that would make you cry. Do you…" Azula feels pained by these words. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"
Ty Lee pouts her pink lips and finishes restoring her make-up to its pristine condition.
"There's nothing to talk about. I'm going to go check in with some of the new sponsors." Ty Lee stands and scurries away, her heels clicking loudly until the sound is drowned out by the chatter in the ladies' room.
Kya cocks an eyebrow. "I think that was pretty decent of you to offer to talk to her."
"Did she tell you why she's so pissed off?" Azula asks, crossing her arms.
"Something about you and some things that you might have said this morning." Kya shrugs.
"She's some Capitol girl. She can't honestly think that she's going to be able to have a relationship with a victor…" Azula rolls her eyes and then they narrow on Kya. She has clearly said something wrong.
"Yeah, she's that type, but she isn't actually a Capitol girl," Kya says and Azula cocks an eyebrow.
"Right, of course, the girl dyed bright pink isn't a Capitol girl." Azula wishes this were not so complicated; she should have stuck to sex with people she would likely never see again.
"She's from District 8," Kya says softly and Azula does not know how to respond. It strikes her off guard and Kya frowns when she notices. "I thought you knew. Her dad won the games a little after me, actually. He moved to the Capitol after getting a job offer as a stylist for the games. Now he's actually in rehab for drugs, but that's a story for another day…"
"I didn't need to know any of that," Azula says coldly and Kya shakes her head with this knowing look.
"Yeah, you did."
Azula ignores Kya, gazes at the holo-screen and watches the little girl tribute from District 7 get separated from her partner.
In the arena, Asami and the career pack are deep into the rubble of the wasteland when the sun sets and the careers decide to stop. She sits down, quietly offers help and is turned down, and then gets to work silently surveying the area for the recognizable devices that pepper the ruins.
Cameras. Sato Industries. Packs. Sato Industries. Switches-Asami-Doesn't-Want-To-Touch. Sato Industries. Her dad is not a gamemaker, but he might as well have built the arena with his bare hands.
"We're going to have three watches tonight," Kuvira announces and Asami nods. "Then we keep going towards that tower. Everybody is going to run right to that huge beacon…"
Her next few words are drowned out by the anthem echoing through the arena. Asami instantly looks up, her heart pounding. She does not know why she cares who died, but she does, because each death is a step closer to her life.
The first face in the sky is from District 4, and that means Korra is alive. Same with those two scary twins, yes, but Korra is alive and Asami does not know why she is so happy about that. She does glance at Hahn but he is unflinching about the death of his district partner. The next is the earth tribute from District 5. Then both tributes from District 9.
Finally, the anthem plays in a victorious flourish and the sky fades back to the artificial moon and stars.
"That was your kill, right?" asks Ginger as she gestures where District 9 was moments ago.
"Yeah," Asami replies quietly. They all told her she should feel so proud, but it just makes her confused. She cannot imagine herself taking a life. That isn't an idea she can wrap her head around.
"Good job," Mako says with a warm nod in her direction.
She feebly shrugs. Best to look humble and weak.
"We're going to go further into the ruins tomorrow," Kuvira finishes and then she assigns first watch to Mako and second to Hahn. "We need a fortress if we want to conquer."
Those are the last words said before the watch is initiated and the careers settle in relative safety.
But Asami wakes in the pitch black night to the sounds of a quiet commotion in her camp.
She sits up from the yellowish canvas sleeping bag that she had rested between two fallen columns and can see Kuvira hovering over Hahn, whom Mako has pinned down on rusty metal strewn over the rubble. She glances over at Ginger and Tahno and sees that they are both waking just now.
"I was tired," Hahn whines, his machismo attitude wiped away by his clear fear. Asami slowly sits up and tries not to draw attention to herself as she seeks the cameras with her eyes.
"You were sleeping on watch. It doesn't matter if you were tired," Kuvira says in a lethal but eerily calm tone.
"I…" Hahn is at a loss for words.
"We obviously don't allow sleeping on watch in the arena. And so it must be penalized. You know what the punishment is for sleeping on watch?" Kuvira says calmly and Asami stares with eyes wide as saucers.
"N-no," Hahn replies nervously, his stomach doing backflips.
His answer is the squelching sound of metal puncturing organs. He looks stunned for a few moments, but then comes the sound of the cannon. Bang. Asami flinches, even if she has heard it several times before.
This is not good. This is not good. This is not good.
Asami does not think she likes her allies very much.
In the Capitol, Mai asks loudly, "Can I change my bet?"
"Mai!" Katara shouts in revulsion.
"What? That girl is going to win and we all know it." Mai just shrugs; she is right and unapologetic.
Azula has been blessed with the presence of Mai and her two cronies as she sits in the center of a lounge and subtly scans for sponsors. Hama has been locked in conversation with an older man, and Azula does not think she can swoop in and steal that. Korra should be allowed to have a chance. After all, Azula needs the star-crossed lovers scheme to fall back on once the careers at last disband.
And judging by Kuvira's latest action, that will not be a long time from now.
"She's smart, but she knows she's smart," Azula remarks dryly, unimpressed by the career pack leader who just gutted a boy for falling asleep on watch. "It'll be her undoing."
Katara rolls her eyes. "Because you're just the picture of humility."
"I can be arrogant. I already won."
Azula stands as soon as she sees the wealthy wife of a casino owner and strides over to her to begin chatting her up.
The rest of the day goes as expected; Azula flirts her way to several significant deals that should make the careers very happy with their weakest recruit. And when the evening comes to a close, Azula makes the decision to go home instead of back to the Tribute Center.
Home. She wonders when she started referring to the Presidential Palace as home.
And so now, she sits in a car with Mai, whom is balancing a champagne glass precariously between her knees. They are bathed in the flickering neon lights that shine through the windows of the white limousine and it looks like a very pathetic attempt at a two person rave party. Azula has attempted the Capitol party life, mostly to erase the pain, but she is not that type of people person, nor the type of person who can surrender control like that.
"So, who are the District 1 mentors this year anyway? I didn't see any of the victors," Azula asks, surprised that she did not think about that even after the buzz about Kuvira all night. "They're our best competition."
"Your best competition. Hyunara and Izumi of course. No, they're definitely not making any appearances other than maybe a commercial or two," Mai says before yawning and leaning back. "Although, their games were impressive. As impressive as that metalbending girl who just killed her own ally without a second thought. I'm changing my bet."
Those victors could not be more different, but they are intimidating. Almost intimidating. Hyunara has fangs, which is real dedication to her brand. Izumi is calculated but mild mannered, which is far more frightening than a woman famous for ripping throats out with her bare teeth. They know what they are doing, and Azula has never mentored before. But Azula will win. She knows how to create a narrative that captivates any audience.
That is worth more than them. She reminds herself of that.
Azula sighs haughtily. "Asami Sato is going to be the Victor of the 74th Annual Harmony Games if it is the last thing I do. They will have to pry that crown out of my cold, dead hands before it goes to anyone but her," she snaps.
"Maybe you should have accepted the offer to be gamemaker if you feel that way," Mai says sharply and it stings. Mai wishes she could regret it, but she does not; it is the truth. It is exactly why Ozai did this in particular.
Azula leans back against the cold window as Mai finishes her drink in silence.
In the arena, Asami does not get back to sleep that night.
Korra doesn't sleep either. She is still hopping through the ruins and focusing on her goal. The tower had seemed so close before, but now it is so far away.
She stumbles and ducks when she hears footsteps crunching on the scorched gravel. They sound heavy and male. Slowly, she lies down further and tries to reach for her water pouch as quietly as she can. Korra rolls on her side and begins to crawl away from the sound of the two scary twins from District 3…
But then she hears a yelp of horror and the sound of ice being bent. Korra holds her breath. The shrieking twelve-year-old is a distraction so that she can escape. That is what a logical person who is as dead set on winning as Korra would do.
She only gets a few steps towards the charred forest before she spins around, forming a water whip in one motion and shattering the prison of ice around the little girl from District 7. The twins look up at Korra, half-emotionless, half-enraged at the interruption of their kill.
"Run, kid, run!" Korra shouts, probably attracting the attention of every tribute in the arena.
The little girl bolts away as Korra prepares her water for another strike. Two against one, same element, the two of them with far more advanced training than her. She really doubts she is making it out of this one, but that doesn't stop her from running to higher ground and avoiding the seemingly ceaseless attacks coming her way.
Korra jumps and rolls beneath the rubble, bracing herself for the long fall down a small hill. She thinks she hits every rock on the way down, but once she hits the ground for good, she cannot hear Desna and Eska anymore.
She waits, breathless, for the sunrise, too afraid to move.
Too afraid to let anyone see that she is quietly crying about that little girl.
In the Capitol, even when removed from the Tribute Center and in the Presidential Palace, Azula cannot avoid being sucked back into watching the games. She walks barefoot across the cold hardwood floors and sees the largest, focal television on with the non-mentor-oriented format; Azula had almost forgotten what the real Harmony Games looked like.
Mimi is watching on the sofa, and Azula and Mai gravitate towards the screen until they are sitting beside her and watching in silence. They have managed to give some interesting highlights this evening.
Like with Korra. Ugh.
The moment Korra breaks Ikki free from the prison of ice makes her mentor's breath catch. She cannot remove her eyes from the girl she needs dead.
She cannot remove her eyes from a girl who, for a moment, reminds her of herself. Ikki is eerily familiar, and Azula knows it is by her father's design. If Korra does anything similar to Azula's Games, it will make ruthlessly killing Korra more difficult. Far from impossible; Azula lacks a heart or any compasssion. But more difficult.
"Does anybody even remember how to cry for those kids?" Azula thinks aloud as she watches her tribute shed tears in front of millions of people about a girl she saved.
Silence.
No. The answer is no.
"Well, now that everyone feels terrible about themselves, it is Mimi's bedtime," Mai says as she looks over at the girl sucking on a fleece blanket as she watches as vacantly as if it were a cartoon. Ikki is not much older than her. Mai tries not to think about that as she snatches the girl and takes her towards the stairs.
Mimi does not complain as she allows her mother to lay her down and wrap the blankets too tightly around her, as if she is afraid she is going to fall out and die. Maybe she is.
"She lived, right?"
"Ikki?"
"Korra."
"Oh, yeah." Mai does not know why Mimi is asking. She does not like the fact that Mimi is asking. "Is she your favorite this year?"
"Yeah. I like her eyes." Mimi smiles faintly and Mai thinks she is being honest. "And how she was in the interview. She was so funny!"
Mai crosses her arms and wonders how she is supposed to address this. She figured at some point her child would choose a favorite tribute for petty reasons, and root for them, and maybe even cry when they died.
It feels wrong. It makes her think about the fact that there were probably little girls watching her talking about how much they wanted her to win or talking about her eyes.
"Goodnight," Mai says softly.
"Night," Mimi murmurs and Mai wishes she did not love her kid so much.
This consolation prize of a happily ever after is a joke.
And like all jokes, Mai does not think it is funny.
Two days later, Azula wakes with an agonizing headache on the sofa of the District 2 apartment in the Tribute Center.
Her eyes flutter open and try to identify what just dared to wake her. She finds that it is Varrick going on and on about the most exciting play yet. Azula sits up fast enough to give herself whiplash, but she does not care as she anxiously waits for him to return to the recap.
The highlight plays, after he finishes blathering.
Asami is running and Azula's heart begins to race, but then she sees the other careers sans Tahno running alongside her. The camera pans to him, not her, and she, Kuvira, Mako and Ginger are now out of sight.
It is the two twins who nearly killed the little girl Korra has now so cutely allied with. One of them is dead. The boy. Tahno is holding the club that bludgeoned him to death, and the girl has torn up the entire small building they had taken shelter in. The soaked rubble drips with black ash as she, in utter rage and agony, slashes him in half with a blade of ice.
The feed very quickly cuts out after that, and tries to focus on the first blast of blood instead of what the aftermath of that must look like. Azula shivers very slightly.
Her district partner was decapitated.
She decapitated her district partner.
It was not a good time.
"I would fear that girl," Hama remarks from the back of the room. She is clutching a glass of orange juice and studying her previously passed out parallel mentor. "She was very close to her brother, and her bending is very powerful. Revenge is one hell of motivator."
"Yeah." Azula forces herself to get up and get dressed.
When she finishes dolling herself up and popping too many painkillers, Azula returns to the luxurious rooms alit with excitement about the games. She had thought there would be more talk about Eska's clear mental break. But apparently her tribute has done something more newsworthy. The wrong tribute; Korra has done it and now Azula is staring at a board of odds trying to figure out how to remedy this situation.
She hears high heels click towards her and come to a halt at her side. When she looks over her shoulder, she sees Ty Lee beside her.
"It disgusts me," Azula says and she does not need to explain herself to her escort.
"People like her spirit," Ty Lee offers brightly as she realizes how Korra and Asami's odds have flip-flopped since Korra allied with Ikki. Azula finds it absurd; allying with a little girl makes Korra weak, even if she seems sympathetic. Asami is in a far better situation.
"Spirit doesn't increase kill counts," Azula snaps and Ty Lee slowly shakes her head.
"It's good television. Korra helping that little girl. It's unusual and sweet. It reminds me of your Games," Ty Lee says with a fawning expression that makes Azula want to throttle her. How dare this meaningless escort voice what everyone else is smart enough not to. "Why don't we get Asami to join up with them? The two lovers and a child between them, fighting together…"
"Yes, that would be good for ratings," Azula says coldly, brimming with anger about Ty Lee's cavalier attitude towards Azula's Games. "But I need her to live this time."
Ty Lee clears her throat. "How did you live?"
Azula's cheeks flush and her jaw clenches. At last, she admits, "I lived by exploiting the viewers and increasing ratings so much that they couldn't afford to let me die in there."
"Uh-huh. So, how does playing house sound to you?" Ty Lee smiles and bats her eyelashes.
"So, how does figuring out how to interfere with the games sound to you? Asami is not stupid enough to leave the career pack."
"The career pack is breaking really fast. The second Ginger is dead, Mako and Kuvira are going to pick Asami off," Ty Lee says and Azula sighs because it is true.
"I wish you were as dumb as you looked."
Azula glares at her escort but Ty Lee smiles back at her.
In the arena, Korra is slowing down.
Water. By dawn on the second day of the Harmony Games, water has now become Korra's biggest priority. Her pack had her set for combat, and, to be honest, she had been using most of it as something to drink so that she does not die on her long trip to the tower.
But now she has run out, and she has no doubts that those twins will kill her on sight. Not to mention the careers.
She cracks her knuckles, glances around, wonders how she is even supposed to find it. When she was a kid, there was always water. Everywhere. Even if it was impossible to drink, like most of the marsh, she was surrounded by it. More of it than trees or sunshine.
But here? This arena is a literal wasteland. She has a packet of iodine but not a drop to drink.
Korra feels her head start spinning as she continues trudging towards the tower.
"Water," she occasionally says in the direction of the sky or a shady corner. But she does not think she is swimming in sponsors. Ugh. Swimming. That sounds good.
She is beginning to lose energy and willpower when she reaches a roadblock. A literal one.
All she wants in the arena is to get to that clock tower amongst the ruins of the city before she runs out of water. She has not heard cannon fire in a while, and that does not bode well for her. The games stop being interesting when the killing stops. So, to avoid making herself into a fun twist for the gamemakers, she knows she has to get moving as fast as possible.
But she can't do that.
Because there is a humongous wall that spans all the way to the forests on either side. It has vines on it, and so they are the first thing she tries. She grabs onto one and it snaps before she can even get a foot onto it. She grabs two, tests their strength by tugging on them, and then she runs up the wall a few feet before they snap and she hits the dirt.
She growls in frustration before pushing her sore, dehydrated, bruised body back up and trying with another two vines. They last for an even shorter period of time than the previous ones.
Then Korra begins pacing, looking for natural handholds in the rubble. She finds a small path she could take, and gets a few steps up before she hits the ground. This time, she feels too dizzy and breathless to even get up.
She is closing her eyes in defeat when she sees someone hop onto the wall with ease. Korra blinks several times fast, certain she has hallucinated it, but when she sits up, she sees the little girl she saved perched on top of it like a bird.
"Hi," Ikki whispers, waving at Korra. "Thank you for saving me earlier. Do you want me to help you get across?"
"I'd love that," Korra says, pushing herself to her feet. "How did you…?"
"Airbending." Ikki smiles and begins to prance across the wall in search of a good way to help Korra. "I've been doing a pretty good job getting around these huge rocks and stuff. You're a little… uh, heavier on your feet, aren't you?"
"Something like that," Korra grumbles as she follows Ikki from below.
"It's okay. Not everybody can be an awesome airbender. You're really brave. You don't need to run and jump and hide or fly away," Ikki says earnestly. She at last finds a loose hunk of stone that used to be a door before it was bombed.
"Thank you," Korra says awkwardly. Ikki takes a huge breath, holds up her hands, and Korra barely has time to jump out of the way as Ikki breaks the weak spot in the wall. "Little warning next time would be good!"
But Korra is laughing. And Ikki is laughing.
Korra calms down and walks through the new opening. She cannot help but frown when she sees the landscape in front of her. This is not an arena made for a waterbender or firebender, that's for sure. The rubble is huge, uneven and goes all the way to the hazy foot of the tower.
"So…" Korra begins as Ikki starts to jump along with the wind, "do you wanna make an alliance?"
"Really?" Ikki looks stunned by that for some reason.
"Yeah. I'm trying to get to that tower and… you saw me back there. I think I could use some help," Korra says honestly and Ikki smiles.
"So, you want me to help? You don't just want me to tag along 'cause I'm a kid?" Ikki looks hopeful and so Korra nods. "Sounds good. I know where this really nice pond is. Are you thirsty?"
Korra thinks perhaps Ikki is a mirage or hallucination, but, to be honest, Korra could not care less when her mouth feels like this.
When Ikki guides Korra to the pond, she thinks she is definitely dreaming. It is… beautiful. Strangely beautiful, seeing as it is just a huge ditch in which a lot of rainwater or runoff has pooled. It is surrounded by walls of busted columns and crumbling rock, which offers shade too.
"How did you find this place?" Korra asks in awe as she stumbles to the water and tries to force herself not to drink it until she purifies it.
"A little birdy told me." Pause. "I was the birdy. I was flying by it and… fell in."
Korra laughs hoarsely as she impatiently awaits her first real drink in at least six hours of walking across uneven terrain in the scorching sunlight.
"Better to fall in here than a… lava pit or something," Korra says as she finally sees the water finish and puts the bottle to her lips faster than she thought she could ever move. She downs the entire thing before deciding she should broil more for both she and Ikki.
Ikki finishes examining the perimeter and then sits down beside Korra with her eyes focused on the beautiful pool. The water is oddly crystalline for an arena that is made of dust; it breaks the illusion that this place is not artificial.
"There must be a lot of water where you're from," Ikki says as she finds a stone and begins to clean it with her small, swift hands.
"Yeah. It's mostly a marsh, though. It's not all pretty like that stuff," Korra admits with a cavalier shrug. "And, so what's District 7 like?"
"It's really dry and hot. It's a desert, actually. There's just fire and air and stuff," Ikki says. "There's a word for it and it starts with A but I don't remember. Ugh."
"Airy?" Korra asks, screwing up her face in thought.
"Kinda. Oh, never mind…" Ikki watches the water as Korra begins to make a very small, controlled fire.
"Arid!" Korra exclaims, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
Ikki squeals and claps her hands. "Arid! That's the one. You're so smart!"
Korra laughs quietly. "Asami is smarter." She then scratches her head. "Asami could figure out how to light this thing…"
Meanwhile, Asami sits beneath another shelter of rubble with the remaining career pack as Ginger reheats the dried food packets Asami's sponsors gave them. That smell is the smell of life, because Asami knows it is the only reason she is still alive. She received three more packages; they all were weapons.
Kuvira and Mako are sorting them.
"Okay, you can have the bow," Kuvira says, tossing it at Ginger. "Sword?" Kuvira holds it up to Mako. He nods and accepts. "This slingshot is cute. Here you go, Sato."
And so, a child's toy is thrown onto Asami's lap, now her only real weapon. Great. She mutters a thank you and pretends to be grateful.
"What are these?" Ginger asks as she picks through the different projectiles.
"Those are Caldera Cocktails," Asami blurts out before blushing. But they are all listening. "They're like tiny little grenades. You turn them on, throw and run away from them."
"Right." Ginger looks unimpressed, as usual.
Asami nods once at her and does her part to set up their camp. She has no choice but to make herself as useful as possible as their numbers dwindle.
That evening, the only names in the sky are Tahno and Desna. That means maybe Eska has not gone on the killing spree that Asami had been worried about. She is on watch with Mako, trying not to make Hahn's mistake but struggling to keep her eyes open.
"So, Tahno is down, Ginger would be next…" Asami says quietly to him. "And then you guys will kill me, huh?"
Mako frowns faintly even if he knows that it is true.
"I kinda like you," Mako admits, rubbing his neck awkwardly. He stares at her, seeking any way to get out of this conversation. He finds it glittering on her jacket. "Hey, that pin is cool."
Asami touches it gently. "It was my mother's. She wore it during her games."
"She…" Mako trails off.
"Died. Yeah. I miss her," Asami says and Mako frowns at his feet. "It's okay. Don't feel bad for bringing her up. It's nice to hear about her… most people pretend she never existed."
Mako gazes at her for a long while.
"Is that stuff true? About you and Korra?" Mako asks and Asami is taken aback. She did not expect that question from him.
"I guess. Yeah," Asami says warmly, and he averts his eyes.
She is glad it is dark and cold so he cannot see her blush.
In the Capitol, Azula shakes and cries as she clings onto the counter behind her. She holds it like it is a slowly deflating life raft, and tries to steady herself as she trembles like a leaf in the wind.
She cannot bear this. She cannot handle the sparing of that little air girl.
She cannot handle what she sees in front of her.
Where is she? Why does she feel like she is somewhere that no longer exists?
It is not the first time she has vanished from reality, but it is one of the worst.
[X]
After calming herself with pills, Azula has made at least one stylist cry in frustration this evening, and she considers that to be the first victory of the day. She has been preparing for an important party of the Presidential Palace tonight that she had little desire to attend until she began truly thinking through what Ty Lee had suggested earlier today.
She has decided what she must do to salvage her plans to control the games, and it involves her airheaded one-night stand.
Azula is halfway ready and mostly wrapped in towels when she sees Ty Lee walking through the apartment on a phone call. The second she finishes it, Azula swallows her pride and does what must be done.
"Would you like to come to the Presidential Palace party tonight?" Azula asks Ty Lee in a pained tone. "Not like a date. I'm actually attending to see if I can get your playing house idea to work, and you are a wonderful example of the average viewer."
Ty Lee shrugs; it's the best she will get from Azula. "I would love to be your date to the party tonight."
"Good. Meet me in two hours," Azula says. She turns off the faucet and goes to find her idiot stylist.
The moment Azula is gone, Ty Lee is sent into a frenzy. She has never been invited to a party like that before, and she does not know how she will even handle it. Azula is trusting her to make her look good and Ty Lee goes through every single outfit she owns. It still does not feel good enough when she meets the victor.
"Oh wow," Ty Lee murmurs as she looks at Azula dressed for the party. She is electrifying in those clothes, the sapphire that somehow does not overwhelm her natural glamor. Girls in the Capitol would go under the knife a thousand times and not reach that kind of beauty.
Azula would disagree; she hates her outfits. She does, however, think Ty Lee looks marvelous, even with those tacky pink eyelashes.
"To the party then, I suppose?" Azula cocks an eyebrow.
And an hour later, they wander through the lavish bash giving greetings and trying to reach Zhao. He is her best chance of gently nudging the odds in her favor. It isn't as if no mentor has pulled strings in the Capitol before; the real sponsors do so much more than give water bottles and fancy knives.
"Where is he?" Ty Lee asks as she clings more tightly to Azula. Her face is flushed, her smile wide, her skin glowing as she tries to make this party last. She does not know if she will ever be able to go to another one, and it is thrilling.
"I have no idea," Azula says coldly. She turns and sees Zuko, Katara and June leaning against one of the tables and talking over shots. Azula swallows her pride for the sake of her sister and walks towards them.
"What do you need?" Katara asks and Azula rolls her eyes.
"We're looking for Zhao," Azula says earnestly and Katara turns away, trying to hide her distaste. It is not as if she hasn't utilized that different type of sponsor, but she does not like condoning it either.
Zuko, however, looks at Azula and squints. "You're rigging the game already?"
"I'm making a suggestion, as the person who was offered his job and therefore ought to be listened to," Azula replies and Ty Lee shivers. She does not know what Azula is going on about, but it sounds uncomfortable and dark.
June clears her throat and decides to help the girl who wants to spice up these boring-ass games. "I last saw him hitting on some uncomfortable girl in the Fire Courtyard. All the gamemakers are in that, uh, general vicinity." She unflinchingly tosses back another drink.
"Good," Azula says.
"But take my advice. Your girl is doing good right now, and I believe in a wonderful piece of advice from this pretty boy." June nudges Zuko so hard he nearly falls over. "Save the best shot for last."
She takes Katara's glass of clear liquor, tilts it towards Azula, and drinks it pointedly.
"I will," Azula replies before grabbing Ty Lee and making her way to the Fire Courtyard.
The moment Azula leaves, "Well, that went well," Zuko comments as save the best shot for last echoes in his head.
Zuko doesn't know why the final advice he gave a tribute he swore to stop thinking about has so quickly overtaken his mind. Maybe because he doesn't have any other duties than charming Capitol citizens now that both his tributes are dead. Maybe because the only thing that Ozai cannot control is Zuko's mind; if the victor wants to, he can think all he wants about Mai.
"Why do you look so guilty?" Katara asks as she leans against the blindingly sparkly table. "Seriously."
And Zuko glances up at his date to the party. "Reasons," Zuko replies weakly and Katara laughs.
She looks spectacular in that cobalt dress that isn't glamorous but beautiful. Her stylists know what they are doing, if what they're doing is trying to keep her alive. That's why Katara stays in the limelight nonstop, as she told Zuko the night Ozai told him what they both had to do. Because it's hard to kill a victor that everyone loves.
"You look even more brooding than usual this year. Bleck." Katara sticks her tongue out and then rolls her eyes. "We should have fun while we can. I don't think the rest of the night is going to be as pretty as you." She mockingly pats the side of his face, the one without the scar, and then leans against the table more loosely this time.
Opal walks by, smiles brightly and then walks over to the both of them. Katara and Zuko can't help but soften a bit; this girl, of all people, doesn't deserve this life.
"Have you seen Mai? I have her coat and I don't know where she went," Opal asks casually and Zuko feels disconcerted. He worries when people go missing. Everyone he loved did, and so he needs to make sure she is okay. Opal walks away, shrugging with the white blazer still draped over her arm.
She and Katara meet each other's gaze and Zuko's skin prickles. They know something that he doesn't, and so he walks through the crowd and tries to find the sullen girl in the white dress. After very awkwardly asking a few drunks who wouldn't be on Ozai's radar, he manages to find her in the abandoned Water Courtyard.
The sky is still smoky with the fireworks that go off every night during the games as if there is reason for celebration.
Save the best shot for last.
Mai is using a bow. She likes throwing stars, throwing knives; she would probably learn how to use spears if someone would teach her. But she always was good at archery. She is holding the string for what feels like too long to Zuko, but he doesn't know anything other than broadswords and bending.
She releases and the arrow hits the bottle perched on the fence. It crashes and cracks and Zuko jumps.
"Are you… having fun?" Zuko asks and he knows it doesn't even merit a response.
"Destroying expensive champagne bottles with arrows is slightly less torturous than the party."
"Well," Zuko says before clearing his throat, "slightly less torturous is better than torturous."
That probably is a tasteless comment, given the Capitol's track record with brutality.
"Wanna learn to be a master marksman?" Mai asks, holding up the beautiful silver bow.
It's unnecessarily made of real silver. The ridiculous material that makes it too heavy to be practical. But it's the best present he has ever given her because she quite likes to imagine herself shooting an arrow through his head one day.
"I probably can't, but I'll try," Zuko admits.
Mai nods and beckons.
In a courtyard that is humming with life instead of the cold silence of Mai and Zuko alone, Azula and Ty Lee enter the loud, rowdy antics of gamemakers and girls.
"Oh, there she is," says the gamemaker of the past eight years as Azula and her arm candy demand that all eyes focus on them. "Everyone's favorite victor."
"I wouldn't say everyone," Azula says sweetly and Ty Lee cocks an eyebrow. "But you shouldn't believe half of what I say."
He laughs. It is forced, which Azula thinks is for the best; he wants to impress her.
"And who is she?" Zhao asks as the other important people fade back into their conversations. Azula stands by the fountain with her escort and her prey.
"This is Ty Lee. She's the escort this year," Azula says before launching into the excruciating small talk.
But, at last, she finds her opportunity.
"I have this idea, you see," Azula says and he studies her.
"Don't we all." Zhao looks slightly concerned and Azula clenches her jaw.
She somehow manages to maintain her beautiful air. "Mine are worth listening to."
"True enough." He tips his drink to her and she tries not to roll her eyes.
"Korra and Ikki have made… such a stir of excitement. But they're just on the sidelines saying cute things," Azula says smoothly, releasing Ty Lee for the first time. "I think that perhaps forcing them to spice it up could make for an incredible finale."
"And how?" Zhao asks. He does know that Korra and Ikki are worth exploiting.
"Star-crossed lovers, remember? We get the careers to collide with Korra and Ikki. Korra saves the kid, gets the girl… for now. They play house while being hunted in vengeance…"
The next morning in the arena, Korra does not think she is getting any closer to the tower. In fact, she thinks she might be going in circles, but she still focuses on Ikki and working in tandem to cross the rubble field. They heard a cannon earlier, and Korra has been trying not to think about it.
The odds are in Asami's favor.
She and Ikki left the reservoir before sunup and have now been returning to their course towards the tower that sticks out on the horizon like a beacon. Now, they are at a standstill, hungry, thirsty and exhausted.
"Can you get up there?" Korra asks Ikki, her brow knit in concern.
"Obviously," Ikki says with a huge smile.
"That place has a really good view of the forest parts," Korra says as she squints at the high nest-looking place made from a broken building.
"You think that's where everybody else is?" Ikki asks. She does remember Lu Ten going in that direction.
"Maybe." Korra shakes her head and shrugs.
Ikki runs up the wall and lands atop the stones. She glances around and then holds down her pack for Korra to grab onto. It takes some bending and some of Korra's brute strength, but they both make it to the top and sit down comfortably.
"I'm starving," Ikki says quietly and Korra stares at the distant forest. They are in a really bad situation.
"I thought maybe there would be something on this path. But I guess it was the most obvious one…" Korra frowns. "It was a trap to… kill us here, I guess."
Ikki wishes she had something to say that would make Korra feel better, but she doesn't.
"So tell me about your magical romance with Asami," Ikki asks with an excited smile. Korra does not know how this kid does it, but she envies her.
Korra sighs as she looks around at the ruins intermingled with wilderness. Asami is somewhere out there, and is possibly going to kill Korra and Ikki both.
"I never knew she liked me," Korra says, rubbing her neck. "I wish I did."
"How did you meet?" Ikki asks excitedly and Korra rubs her dry lips together.
"She helped me… out. Just out of a tough spot. I invited her to a thing and she never showed up. And that was… it, I guess," Korra says weakly. It is sort of the story, she supposes.
They are interrupted by the Capitol fanfare and a symbol in the sky. Three cannon shots, there were today. Korra holds her breath until the first face comes up; District 6. It's the earthbending boy, Haru. Both tributes, Kai and Jinora, from District 8 have been killed today too.
"Who's left?" Korra whispers and Ikki thinks for a minute.
"Mine is alive; Lu Ten is alive. You, me, Asami, Mako, Kuvira, the red haired girl and the girl twin," Ikki lists and she pauses to make sure she is right. She is.
"So that's eight still left," Korra murmurs. "We have a chance of making it through tonight without anything interfering."
"Yeah," Ikki whispers as she looks at Korra with her wide, admiring eyes.
Korra then sees something coming at them both. She grabs her fighting water and Ikki holds up her hands to create a shield, but then the tributes notice that it is a gift from a sponsor. Korra can barely breathe when she sees it.
"Thank you, Hama," she whispers, because no way was it Azula. Korra grabs it and with a timed slash of water, she slices it open and a pile of dehydrated food falls out onto her lap.
She grins at Ikki and the little girl quietly cheers.
Meanwhile, Asami can feel the tension in the career pack. She does not think they are going to last long, and she tries her best to focus on a way to use any of her skills to survive another day. Her thoughts are on creating a disaster using one of the recognizable contraptions, but none of them make sense, and Asami does not want to risk it.
She thinks she might be a coward.
She just keeps walking behind the three other careers, her eyes fixated on them to ensure she avoids being stabbed in the back.
"What was that?" Mako asks and Kuvira holds up her closed fist.
Asami and Ginger stumble to a stop and Asami feels her ears bend towards whatever sound they are discussing. She does hear it. It is a creaking at first, and then a humming, and then the ground begins to shake beneath Asami's feet.
She screams and barely dodges the now falling ceiling. Fuck, fuck, fuck. The earthquake intensifies and Asami looks around, agape as she feels pebbles raining onto her skin. Camera. She sees two cameras and their position…
The Capitol wouldn't break those, would they?
Asami hears huge thud, and it is a chance she is willing to take. She runs across the breaking floor and shoves herself into the crevice with the two cameras. Her chest heaves and her breath deafens her as she waits out the earthquake.
Meanwhile, Ikki barely breaks she and Korra's fall as the earthquake strikes the two of them as well. She starts running as fast as she can, trying to defend both she and Korra from the falling columns and arches.
"Ikki, go without me! You're gonna die! Ikki!" Korra screams as she sees the little girl turn around again to airbend away the rocks that Korra is not managing to avoid on her own.
"You'll die if I don't!"
And it is settled. Ikki is not leaving Korra, and so Korra has to get them both out of here as fast as she can.
But as they almost escape the earthquake-torn rubble, they find another blockade.
It is much worse than the rubble.
Nearby, Asami waits for a few heartbeats as she watches for the other careers, wondering if she should start running now or not. But then Mako, Kuvira and Ginger pop up from the ruins and Asami shoves herself out of her hideaway. They still might be her best chance of survival.
"That was close," Ginger announces too soon.
Much too soon; the next sound is a metal scuttling. Asami looks over her shoulder and sees spider-like things that have these glowing, glaring red eyes and glinting metal casing.
"Run!" Mako bellows, and he does not have to tell Asami twice.
Asami runs as fast as she can. She and the careers emerge from the rubble and see two other tributes running away from the same beasts in the other direction. They are dusted by the rubble as well, and Kuvira races directly at them.
It is Korra and the little girl.
Asami swallows as she hears Ginger's scream and the sound of a cannon. Mako shoves Asami forward and she runs with him until she cannot breathe anymore.
Without a second thought, she dives down and ducks beneath the rubble. She can hear the scuttling of the electronic beasts and still smell the smoke, along with her own racing heartbeat, as she closes herself into the small inlet amongst the broken buildings.
Mako and Kuvira have gone running, abandoning Ginger in a flash. Asami can hear Korra yell in pain and she squeezes her eyes shut. She opens them very slowly when she hears a faint buzzing. A faint buzzing beneath the sound of a humongous brawl.
She glances up. It's a camera. Asami has the sudden realization that she is being watched; they want her to do something, and Asami knows exactly what.
They want her to save Korra again.
She considers her fate for a moment, and then she directs her face slightly towards the camera and gives the audience the best contorted expression of fear she can before forcing herself out of her hiding place and jumping up.
The clash is between the two careers, the little airbending girl, and Korra. Asami goes unnoticed as she runs and jumps across the broken rocks, carefully skipping around the fallen robots; they could still leap up, she knows. Ginger's body is still there, not taken by the hovercrafts yet. Asami was right; they expect at least one more death in this altercation.
Fire licks at Asami's frantic hands as she grabs Ginger's bag and weapons. The easiest to use are the little Caldera Cocktails in the metal cases. Asami does not know how to swordfight, nor is she the best marksman, but she feels comfort when she sees the insignia on the small bombs.
She runs towards the scene. Kuvira has Korra pinned to the ground and a fire whirl is created from Mako and Ikki's fight.
Asami grabs the stupid slingshot in her pocket and slides the first cocktail into it. With one fast finger, she turns it on, waits for it to start beeping and…
She releases.
A loud bang precedes the smoke that bursts from the collision spot. Asami steps back, moving back towards her hiding spot as the smoke clears.
Mako and Kuvira are both running into the distance, Kuvira coughing as Mako helps her through the smoke and sparks. Korra is kneeling and Asami puts one hand over her mouth; she cannot have killed her. No, no, no.
But Asami did not kill her.
She killed the little girl.
Asami thinks she is going to throw up.
The action is undoable but she wishes that she could take it back. Her legs freeze; she wants to run from the scene of the crime, but the canon bangs, reverberating around the arena and cementing her in place out of fear.
Korra runs forward towards the little girl with a wordless cry and Asami stumbles backwards, falling into the bushes and earning several scratches from the branches. She is about to push herself up and run away, but then everything changes.
The wind picks up and becomes strong enough to nearly blow Asami away. Her jaw drops as she sees Korra's eyes glow bright blue and her arms rise. The rocks move with her and Asami has no idea what is happening, until she sees Korra, Korra who seems possessed by blue light, pushing out two hands in a firebending motion. She ends the flames left from the explosion, and then the wind from her palms forces all of the smoke away for good.
Asami stares despite her stinging eyes and sees the ground shake again. But it is not an earthquake; Korra has shoved the rocks forward, entombing the body of the little airbending girl. It looks more like protection than a funeral, but either way, Asami realizes that whatever is happening is happening because of Ikki's death.
The rubble shifts with Korra's motions, the dust disappears when she wants it to, water bursts from beneath the ground and washes the stones until they glisten. And the grand finale is when Korra turns towards Mako and Kuvira, and the forest they are dashing towards combusts in powerful flames.
No, no, this is not the gamemakers.
This is…
Asami knows what this is even if it makes no sense.
This is…
Asami walks forward, away from her potential hiding place. She does not know what is happening to Korra, but it makes her cry, and she does not care if the entire world sees her. It is her fault, and so she slowly walks forward and finds the hand of the girl who has torn into the elements.
The Avatar, echoes in Asami's head, but "Korra," is what comes out of her lips.
She takes her hand, and holds her, until they both sink.
Asami Sato has the unconscious Avatar resting on her lap, and the body of a twelve-year-old girl she killed mere feet away from her in a glistening tomb of bright white stone.