"We need to talk about Shady Shin." Asami's voice sounded worried, and when Korra looked at her, Asami's jaw muscles were tightening as she took a deep breath.
"Sure." Korra nodded immediately, shifting up into a seated position on the couch, "What's up?"
Asami sat down next to her and sighed, pushing her hair out of her face.
"I was on Air Temple Island this morning after taking Sokka to see dad. I was planning on going to see Opal, so I let Sokka go find Shady Shin like he wanted. I walked around looking for Opal, and Aiwei comes up to me, and he's using his earthbender senses to help me find her which was convenient. But then he asks me if I know where Sokka is, and I said of course, that he was with Shady Shin…And he tells me that I need to watch Shady Shin more around Sokka-."
"You too?" Korra asked with a sigh.
"Me too?" Asami's eyebrows shot up and her voice nearly cracked. "What do you mean, me too? Has he said something like this to—you didn't tell me?"
"No." Korra nodded. "And I should have. But I know Shin-."
"Aiwei is a truth-seer, Korra!" Asami huffed, closing her eyes as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "And this is our son! And you're telling me you weren't worried?"
"About Shin? No." Korra repeated firmly. "I trust Shin."
"But you don't trust the walking lie-detector? What if he's hurt Sokka?"
"We would know." Korra insisted, despite the doubt beginning to churn in her stomach. "Look, I'll talk to-."
She was stopped when the door got shoved open, and Kuvira stormed in with a fire in her eyes.
"We're mad." Kuvira growled before Korra could ask.
"Yeah. We already are." Asami replied, motioning from herself to Korra.
"Do you know Aiwei is spreading shit about Shin?" Kuvira asked in a huff, staring at Korra.
"Yes." Korra nodded immediately. "That's what we were just talking about."
"What did you hear?" Asami asked, crossing her arms as she looked at Kuvira.
"He's got Su convinced that Shin is going to hurt Latika. Su has been following Latika like a shadow all day. Then Su told me to keep Shin away from her. Honestly, the man would fucking die for Latika, and Su is believing this shit from Aiwei-."
"So you trust him too?" Asami raised her eyebrow. "Really?"
"Shin? More than Aiwei." Kuvira nodded firmly, "He may be a truth-seer, but that doesn't mean he can't lie. I live in the same city as that man. Su trusts him. But I don't. Shin doesn't either. And Shin's word carries more weight with me than Aiwei's. Shin isn't some kind of pervert, Asami, if that's what you're thinking. Hell, he has a crush on one of my guards and has for three years, but he won't make a move because she's fourteen years younger than him. Listen." Kuvira sighed, crossing her arms. "Shin loves our kids. He wouldn't do something like that."
"I know," Asami sighed, "I know. Aiwei just…messed with my head or something. Of course Shin would never."
Korra felt her blood boiling at the thought. She felt like Aiwei's words were meant to make their thoughts wander like that. Aiwei wanted them to assume the worst, and here they were. He wanted them to hate Shin, to turn against him. But why?
"I don't know what Aiwei thinks he's going to get out of this-." Kuvira started, sounding as angry as Korra felt.
"This." Korra suddenly realized. "We're fighting. Over Shin. Over our kids. With each other. This is what Aiwei wants."
"Why?" Asami scowled, "Why would he want this?"
"I don't know." Korra frowned and shook her head. "I don't. He's trying to scare us, to get us away from Shin and maybe even each other. But I don't know why. Though I do know that the only way we're going to get to the bottom of this is if we go talk to Shin."
"I'll get my car keys." Asami replied with a sigh.
"Shin!" Korra's voice boomed across the courtyard, louder and angrier than she had meant it to sound. She wasn't mad at him, but she was mad. He would have to forgive her.
"Yeah, boss?" He poked his head out of the dining hall and Korra immediately made her way over, nudging him back inside and shutting the door when Asami and Kuvira came in after her. "What's going on?"
"We need to talk with you. About you." Kuvira explained.
Shady Shin frowned, his eyes narrowing the slightest amount as he looked between the three of them with a confused expression.
"What do you mean?"
"Aiwei has been saying things about you, Shin. Regarding our kids." Korra told him. "And we want to talk to you, to clarify any of that."
"And I don't trust him," Kuvira added, "That's why we're here. Because I trust you more than I trust Aiwei."
"I have hated this man for eight years," Shady Shin's eyebrows went up and he shook his head, "And you three just now come around and realize that he might be the one that's shady. He's been lying to you, about whatever this is about."
"He's a truth-seer," Asami huffed, "What do you expect me to believe?"
Korra watched as Shady Shin swallowed and took a deep breath before he answered.
"Okay, Asami." Shady Shin nodded. "So he's a truth-seer. He can detect heartbeats and 'tell' if someone's lying. You know who else can do that? Ma. Same idea, different method. He's manipulating you. How can you tell when a truth-seer is lying?"
"You can't." Kuvira replied. "That's Su's problem."
"So," Shady Shin continued, still looking at Asami, probably realizing much like Korra had that Asami was the one who didn't trust him. "If you can't tell when a truth-seer is lying…how do you know his lies from the truth?"
"It's my son, Shin." Asami sighed. "And Latika. I don't think clearly when their safety is questioned. Aiwei said he thought you were going to hurt them and-."
"I have literally threatened to kill Aiwei for stalking Sokka!" Shady Shin yelled abruptly, his face becoming flushed.
"He's…not lying." Kuvira sighed, which seemed to calm Shady Shin down for a moment. "I was there for that. He looked Aiwei in the eyes and said that."
"Wait, really?" Asami asked, uncrossing her arms.
"Yeah." Kuvira nodded. "It was like two years ago. But Aiwei was basically following Sokka around, and he came over when I was talking to Shin—Shin got between us so that Aiwei couldn't see Sokka. Said Sokka was his family, and if Aiwei looked at him wrong, that was going to be it."
Asami had narrowed her eyes sometime after Kuvira started talking. Korra recognized the change in her expression. Kuvira had never been good at lying, at least not to Asami. Asami was always able to tell, and she was trying to tell now. After a few seconds, Kuvira raised her eyebrow and Asami sighed.
"I would trust you with Latika's life, Shin." Kuvira told him when Asami sighed. "Really, I would. Whatever Aiwei has Su believing…I'll try to take care of it."
"I'm sorry." Asami added after a pause. "Aiwei clearly wanted me to stop trusting you."
"Because he knew if you didn't trust Shin, that Korra wouldn't." Kuvira's face rapidly contorted into a scowl, and Korra noticed Shady Shin was shaking. "Because if he could get you to convince Korra not to trust Shin, then Korra and Su could convince me-."
"He's trying to drive us apart." Korra repeated her realization from earlier. "And he used our kids to do it. The only question is why?"
"He told you…" Shady Shin's voice was a growl, and Korra could see him gritting his teeth, "That he thought I was going to hurt those kids. That he thought I was going to hurt my family. That he thought I would do that-." He stopped, his chest rising and falling with each deep breath he was trying to force into his lungs. His fists were clenched at his sides and he was silent for a few seconds. When he opened his eyes again Korra saw him staring daggers at her with eyes as pale as ice. "Where—is—he?"
Korra opened her mouth to reply, but Shady Shin didn't give her the chance. He shouldered his way between her and Kuvira, ripping the door to the dining hall open and stepping outside. Korra and Kuvira struggled through the door at the same time, stumbling out of the room with Asami at their heels in time to see Shady Shin stomping across the courtyard. Aiwei was standing at one corner of the open area, talking to Su who was watching Opal and Latika train a few yards away. Aiwei was leaning close to Su's ear and talking to her, but he stopped when he saw Shady Shin approaching.
"Get off my island." Shady Shin shouted at him, pointing with one arm toward the docks. "Get off this island, and get the hell away from my family."
Su raised one eyebrow as Shady Shin continued to yell at Aiwei, glancing over his shoulder as Kuvira and Korra jogged closer. Opal and Latika had stopped, both watching intently.
"You lied about me, so that they would turn against me-." Shady Shin jabbed his finger into Aiwei's chest before grabbing the front of Aiwei's robes. "All because you know I'm the only one who sees you for what you really are. You can't hide behind that truth-seer shit forever."
"Release me. Now, Master Shin." Aiwei replied coldly.
"You're lying to Su. You're up to something, she just doesn't know it-."
Aiwei shoved Shady Shin away from him, and that was his mistake. It only took half a second of stumbling for Shady Shin to recover, and when he did his fist was swinging toward Aiwei's face. It connected with a loud crack, sending Aiwei backwards and onto the ground. Aiwei recovered quickly for someone his age, slamming his heel into the ground and ripping up a boulder that he launched toward Shady Shin. It struck him squarely in the chest, and he rolled backwards, regaining his footing enough to pull the water out of the pond in the corner of the courtyard.
Korra and Kuvira exchanged a glance before both stepped forward to intervene. They were both knocked off their feet within a few steps, pushed down by Shady Shin's massive stream of water.
"Back off." He growled at them as he began launching ice at Aiwei.
"Shin." Korra tried to get his attention, but Shady Shin was in a different world completely. He was flinging daggers of ice at Aiwei, while Aiwei had resorted to firing off shards of metal from his necklace and shoulder piece.
Someone is going to get hurt.
As if reading her mind, Kuvira stepped forward and immediately began redirecting the shards of metal into the ground so that stray shrapnel wouldn't strike anyone. Shady Shin, for the most part, was able to dodge them, though one did catch him in the arm. Blood was almost instantly visible, though he seemed unfazed. He bent all the water back into a twisting and contorting stream of water, setting his weight into his good leg before forcing the water forward.
It struck Aiwei as one blast, sending him sliding backwards across the courtyard. He was keeping himself stable with earth he had bent around his feet. But Aiwei didn't have time to pull up any more rocks as the stream ended. Taking advantage of this, Shady Shin launched himself forward, his shoulders colliding with Aiwei's chest. Both men flew backwards, landing on the ground a yard or two away. Shady Shin managed to lift himself off Aiwei, only to pull his fist back and punch him again. He was cursing Aiwei the entire time, his free fist balled up in the front of Aiwei's robes, keeping him pinned to the ground.
"Stop this nonsense!" Tenzin bellowed, jogging into the courtyard with Bumi and Kya behind him. "This is a peaceful island! Stop this!"
Shady Shin ignored Tenzin, if he heard him at all. His fist connected with Aiwei's face again, and Aiwei felt around blindly until he slammed his hand into the ground. A pillar ripped out of the earth diagonally, slamming into Shady Shin's side and sending him rolling off of Aiwei.
He pushed himself back to his feet as quickly as he could, ducking low when Aiwei launched another boulder at his head. It soared above him and collided into the wall of the temple, narrowly missing Asami.
"Shin, stop!" Kya shouted, stepping past Tenzin. "Stop right now!"
He did, taking a step back and turning his back on Aiwei before running his fingers through his hair and shaking his head. Korra and Kuvira took the opportunity to move between him and Aiwei to keep them from breaking out in a fight again. Aiwei had taken a step forward to attack Shady Shin again, but with Kuvira and Korra in front of him, he backed down.
"What is the meaning of this?" Tenzin roared, his face red as the vein in his forehead bulged.
Shady Shin closed his eyes as he tried to reign in his breathing, and after a moment he pushed his hair back and turned to face Tenzin.
"That man…" His voice was shaking as he pointed at Aiwei, "Has been making them think that I'm some kind of sick…freak…and telling them that I want to hurt Sokka and Latika-."
Kya stepped closer and put her hand on Shady Shin's shoulder, only to glare at Aiwei without speaking.
"Is this true?" Tenzin asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Yes." Kuvira, Korra, and Asami all spoke in unison from their various spots around the courtyard.
"He told Su, too." Kuvira added.
"Suyin?" Tenzin looked at her, and Su nodded.
"I'm not." Shady Shin had tears streaking down his face. "I have never—would never."
"Calm down." Tenzin said quietly, looking at Shady Shin as his expression softened. "Is that why you started…this?"
Shady Shin nodded, and Tenzin sighed. He took stepped between Kuvira and Korra to move closer to Aiwei. Aiwei was meticulously dusting off his robes and choosing to ignore the blood that was dripping onto them from his face.
"Suyin." Tenzin's voice hardened again, and Korra looked up to see Tenzin was scowling. "You are one of my dearest friends. And I know Aiwei is your advisor. But if what Shin says is true, and I am inclined to believe him, then I must respectfully request that you remove Aiwei from the island immediately. He is not welcome here."
"I understand, Tenzin. Of course." Su nodded once, and Korra noticed her stare at Korra and Kuvira for only a moment before she looked at Aiwei. "Let's go. I'll find a hotel room for you to stay in. We need to talk, regardless."
"Yes, ma'am." Aiwei replied, casting a glare in Shady Shin's direction before obediently following Su toward the docks.
Shady Shin wiped his nose on the back of his sleeve and took a shaky breath, and Korra raised her eyebrow when Tenzin turned around to look at him.
"Shin?" Tenzin's voice was gentler again, and he walked over to Shady Shin and embraced him. "It's alright. You've lived on this island far too long for me to doubt you now. You are my sister's son, after all."
Shady Shin nodded mutely, squeezing Tenzin tightly before taking a step back.
"Come on," Tenzin was smiling, which surprised Korra. "Let Kya tend to your arm, then we'll get you some tea. That will help you calm down. Perhaps Korra, Kuvira, and Asami will join us?"
"Of course we will." Korra agreed before motioning at Asami, "We'd love to."
Su stood up from the sofa in the hotel room when she heard the knock on the door and sighed. Aiwei was standing on the other side of the room, still trying to get the blood out of his robes. She looked through the peephole of the door, sighing again when she saw Kuvira standing in the hallway. Just what I needed right now.
Still, she opened the door and offered Kuvira a tight-lipped smile. Kuvira ignored it, stepping past Su and into the room, folding her arms across her chest.
"We need to talk." Kuvira said when Su shut the door. "About Aiwei."
"I'm aware," Su nodded, moving so that she was standing in front of Kuvira. "So go ahead."
"I'm right here." Aiwei objected from where he was standing.
"Shut up." Kuvira growled, glaring at him before looking back at Su. "You've only heard his point of view. You never asked for mine."
"Kuvira," Su reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I've already talked to Aiwei about it." She had, after all. She'd spent over an hour trying to understand why Aiwei had said such things about Shady Shin, and she was ready to move past it. "I know Shin is your friend-."
"And Aiwei tried to get me to turn against him!" Kuvira's voice was rising in volume, but her tone was still accusatory. "Why do you still trust him?"
"Kuvira," Su tried to keep her voice calm, knowing that would help more than anything. "Aiwei has been my close friend and advisor for longer than you've been alive. This is the first issue in over thirty years that we've ever had-."
"That you know of." Kuvira cut her off, her eyes narrowing.
"Kuvira." Aiwei was moving closer as he spoke, and Su knew Kuvira wouldn't take it well. "Mrs. Beifong is allowed to make her own decisions, in case you do not realize that. It's safe to believe that you are more inclined to care for the interests of your friends—particularly the Avatar—instead of what is best for Suyin and Zaofu. I've always felt that about you, Kuvira. You cannot get over your own biases, the ones that favor your friends over your duty." Kuvira had turned to face him, and Su knew from her posture that she was rapidly preparing to fight Aiwei if it came to it. "And why should you care? You know Suyin will hand everything to you anyway. Just as she always has. Neither of you can pretend that you aren't captain of the guard for any reason other than favoritism."
"Aiwei." Su spoke as a warning, and Kuvira was inches away from him at that point.
"I am merely stating my observations, Suyin." Aiwei nodded. "Kuvira, if it were up to me, and you continued this…display…I would relieve you of your duties. Especially since you are abandoning them, once again I might add, to spend time with the Avatar."
"Good thing you don't make that decision." Kuvira growled.
"No I don't," Aiwei admitted, "But Suyin does. And if she was wise, she would realize that having her advisor and the captain of the guard bickering is bad for the city."
"So she gets rid of the advisor," Kuvira snorted, "I'll get rid of you myself if I have to."
"Kuvira." Su desperately wanted Kuvira to back off, but knew she wouldn't.
"Oh no, Captain," Aiwei smiled, and Su didn't like it, "Suyin will replace you. She's already done it before. We always find someone to fill your place when you decide to take these extended vacations. It would just be my suggestion that the replacement was more…permanent. I'm sure Suyin will agree."
"Su…" Kuvira turned to glance at her, and Su could see the betrayal hidden in Kuvira's gaze as she looked at Su with worry. "Su?"
Aiwei wasn't lying, in a way. Su had had other guards fill in while Kuvira was gone, if it was longer than a few days. She hadn't given any long-term thoughts to a replacement, though Aiwei had spent several weeks trying to push for one. Favoritism or not, Su trusted Kuvira the most, out of all the guards. She was the one most suitable to the position of guard captain. Now Aiwei and Kuvira were butting heads, and Su realized that it was inevitable. She had to replace one of them, despite still trusting both of them. This is only temporary. It will be for the best, surely. I'm sorry.
"Kuvira," Su began with a sigh, only to see Kuvira's eyes go dark as she took a deep breath. "You are going with Korra for a few weeks. So maybe this is for the best. Take a break-."
"I don't need a fucking break!" Kuvira snapped at her. "Everything that's happened in the past week and you tell me I need a fucking break? Now? You just don't want to lose your precious fucking advisor, even though you caught him spreading lies! Because you know I would die for Zaofu, and that I'll be the one to come back. Aiwei never would. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't know that." Kuvira stopped for a moment, her jaw muscles clenching as she swallowed. "Fine. Replace me. Consider this my resignation. But when Zaofu gets screwed over by him—." Kuvira jabbed her finger in Aiwei's direction. "—don't fucking expect me to come back and fix it for you."
"Kuvira." Su reached out and put her hand on Kuvira's arm, only for Kuvira to jerk it out of her reach and turn toward the door.
"Fuck both of you." Kuvira muttered before slamming the door behind her.
Aiwei waited as Kuvira's footsteps faded, before looking at Su with a worried frown.
"Suyin-."
"Shut up." Su huffed at him, moving back over to the sofa and sitting down. "For once in your life, just shut up."
That could have gone better. She would have to find Kuvira later and apologize, once Kuvira had calmed down. If she calms down. Su took a deep breath and pushed her hair out of her face, groaning when she heard her cellphone ringing. What now?
Lin's name was flashing across the screen, so Su answered it, putting it against her ear with a sigh.
"What, Lin?"
"Where's Korra?" There was a quiet panic in Lin's voice that warned Su immediately that something had happened.
"I don't know. Kuvira was just here but she was alone. Why?"
"We need to find her immediately. She needs to come to Air Temple Island, we have to talk. Do you remember Zaheer?"
Su paused for a moment and thought. She remembered all the panic regarding the Red Lotus following Aang's death, which had transitioned into fear for Korra's safety as a child when they had tried to capture her. Su had assisted with finding a suitable prison for the lavabender, she remembered. One that was completely devoid of all earth. Zaheer had been their leader, the only non-bender among them.
"Yes. I do."
"He just escaped from prison. He's an airbender now."
"I'll see if I can find her."
Su realized immediately what that might mean for Korra, and she phone dropped to the sofa and crossed the room quickly before heading down the hall, shouting for Kuvira. They had to find Korra, and Su knew Kuvira would know where she was, or at the very least be able to get them in contact with her. The Red Lotus were known for wanting the Avatar dead. They had to warn her, if nothing else.