DISCLAIMER: Transformers is owned by Hasbro and Legend of Korra is owned by Nickelodeon.
New Iacon Chronicles: Wrath of The Fallen
Chapter 9: The Terror Within
In the mid afternoon back in Zaofu, Korra, now with metal cable holders clipped on her hip and out in the courtyard, was standing off against Wing, who smirked at her. Wing made the first move, moving the meteorite behind him and deviding it in two, sending them towards Korra, who metalbended the chunks away and unleashing a cable towards Wing. Wing easily ducked before Korra whipped the cables around, only for Wing to step on it and metalbending it in a loop that entrapped her and sent her to the ground.
"I can't believe I'm sparring with the Avatar!" Wing enthusiastically said as he pumpped his fist in the air.
"I can't believe I'm stuck with her friend," Wei responded in a not as enthusiactic manner as he impatiently watched Bolin holding a meteorite while Wing earthbended a trail Korra's way.
"Hang on, I think I got it," Bolin said. "Let me just try this. No? Okay, maybe if I-" Suddenly, two metal plated bent up and smacked him on both sides. Blaster, who was spectating, couldn't help but flinch while Mako, Arcee, Asami, Knock Out and Wheeljack approached the four of them.
"Trial by fire!" Wei said to Bolin. "It's the best way to learn metalbending." He then sent a meteorite at Bolin, who yelped and ducked before sending a small pebble to Wei's forhead, causing him to grunt and drop a meteorite.
"I thought he was suppose to learn METALbending," Knock Out stated while Wei rubbed his forehead.
"Yeah, cheater," he dejectedly said.
"Metalbending is etremely difficult," Bolin replied. "No one gets it right away, if they can get it at all! It's not normal!" That wasn't the case with Korra though, as with her cables tying her hands against her waist, she easily kicked a meteorite that was coming her way before bending a cable at Wing, knocking him off balance.
"Whoo hoo!" Korra said before flexing her biceps. "Metalbending champion!"
"Oh, sure, she's the Avatar," Bolin stated.
"Guys, it's time to get cleaned up," Asami said. "Tonight's Opal's farewell dinner."
"Aw, now I gotta say goodbye to Opal!?" Bolin asked. "This is the worst day ever!" With that, he walked away, sulking.
*QUE TRANSFORMERS: ARMADA THEME*
Afterward, the humans all met back in the dining room, with Opal seated with her parents in the middle section of the table, when the chef walked in and laid a dish in front of Opal.
"Thanks for making my favorite meal," Opal said to the chef.
"I'm really going to miss you, Opal," the chef replied. "No one appreciates my raw veggie wraps like you do."
"Every time I eat raw kale, I'm gonna think of you," Bolin said to Opal.
"You're so sweet," Opal replied.
"This stinks," Bolin said in a sad manner. "We were just starting to get to know each other and now you're off to the Northern Air Temple."
"We'll be together soon," Opal responded. "You guys are heading up after finding more airbenders, right?"
"Yeah, but that's...in the future," Bolin answered. "Oh, I hate the future!"
"Until then, we'll always have kale," Opal said as she offered a veggie wrap to Bolin, who munched on it while she gave a wistful smile.
"Kid, can I give you some relationship advice?" Varrick asked.
"Um, no," Bolin answered.
"Well, your loss," Varrick responded. "Zhu Li! Bring the uh, thing." Suddenly, Zhu Li appeared behind him and Asami and handed him a mechanical device.
"Check out my latest invention," he said. "An airbender finder."
"Wait, that can find airbenders?" Korra asked while Asami took the device and pointed it at Korra, only for it to do nothing at all.
"Uh, I think it's broken," Asami said as she gave the device back to Varrick.
"It's not broken, she needs to airbend into it!" Varrick stated. "How else do you expect the thing to work!?"
"Everyone, if I could have your attention please," Su said as she rose up with a glass raised. "Tonight, my beautiful little girl leaves for the Northern Air Temple. Opal, none of us could be more proud of you. You're an incredible daughter, sister, friend, and soon to be airbending master." She then gave her daughter a kiss on the head as Opal's siblings watched, Wing and Wei sniffling while Huan just rolled his eyes.
"Here's to Opal," Su continued as she rose her glass up high. "May she help lead us into the new era." In response, everyone rose their glasses.
As the sun set, everyone watched as an airship took off, with Opal and Windblade inside and waving goodbye to their friends. Once the ship had exited Zaofu, a guard, named Kuvira, pulled out a radio from a metal bag near her hip.
"Lock it down for the night," she said.
"We'll head out first thing in the morning," Lin said to Korra before Bolin sighed solemnly and Blaster placed a hand on his back. As they walked off, the metal pedals closed up, unaware that the city had been infiltrated.
As night fell, the guards were patrolling the guest houses, unaware that Zaheer, P'li, Ming-Hua and Ghazan were running underneath a bridge, quietly peering out and waiting for a guard to walk away from it. Once he did, Zaheer signaled everyone to continue onward, unaware that they themselves were being watched from behind a large bush by Dinobot, Cheetor and Rattrap.
"There they are," Cheetor whispered.
"We must think of a plan to subdue them quietly," Dinobot suggested.
"Scrap that!" Rattrap silently exclaimed. "I say we slag em while we have the chance!" Before either Cheetor or Dinobot could argue, Rattrap immediately ran out of the bush and hid in another bush behind Zaheer and his gang, all while Dinobot slapped himself on the forehead.
"Idiotic vermin!" he silently exclaimed. Meanwhile, Rattrap observed as Zaheer and the others neared the guest houses and got out his blaster, only for an invisible hand to cover his mouth, muffling his yelling before a swift punch to the head knocked him into stasis.
While that was going on, Bolin was fast asleep with Pabu curled on top of him when something caused him to awaken with a squeak.
"Kale, kale, kale..." Bolin said in his sleep while Pabu lept off the bed and scurried to the nearby window ledge, seeing Zaheer and the others outside. Pabu then pawed against the glass and started to shriek, waking Bolin.
"What? What's going on?" he asked as Pabu continued to shrill, much to his annoyance. "Pabu, sleep!"
Back outside, Zaheer and Ming-Hua ran underneath the window to Korra's room before the waterbender raised a tentacle up, forming a small sickle at the end to scratch the glass in a circle. Once she had cut the glass, she quietly pulled the circle away quietly before another water tentacle rose up, holding three darts, all while Korra was tossing and turning in her sleep.
In Korra's mind, visions of the same, mechanical planet came before her, this time attacking a planet that inhabited techno-organic lifeforms with five rotating faces. Battleships rose upward and fired at the planet, only for the pinchers to give off energy and to fire laser beams at them, completely destroying them with one shot.
Suddenly, a noise caused Korra to awaken and she saw Naga with three darts on her shoulder fall to the floor. In response, Korra lept up with fire in her hand, only for Zaheer to airbend a dart at her thigh, causing her to fall to the ground, groaning before collapsing, looking up and seeing Ghazan and P'li in her blurry vision. Ghazan then picked up Korra and threw her over his shoulder before he and P'li ran out of the building, only to suddenly hear something. The four of them looked
up and saw Dinobot snarling and leaping down to them, his sword in his hand before kicking P'li away from him. Ming-Hua was about to send a tentacle his way, only for Cheetor to jump out of the bushes in his cheetah mode and transform before firing a laser blast from one of his hands that sent Ming-Hua away from Dinobot. All the while, Zaheer and Ghazan attempted to escape with P'li following close behind, only for a flame to come their direction. The three of them turned to see Mako and Bolin running out of their guest house, Mako punching fire their way.
"Let her go!" Mako shouted as Bolin stomped on the ground and sent a boulder towards Zaheer and his gang, only for P'li to intercept the fire and Ming-Hua to jump in and slice the boulder in half. Ming-Hua then stretched one of her arms towards them, only for Dinobot to jump in and slice it in half with his sword, however, Zaheer, P'li and Ghazan unleashed all they had at the three of them, forcing them to hide behind a pillar.
"They've got Korra!" Mako said when spotlights suddenly switched on, shining at the criminals while an alarm blared through the city.
"So much for the element of surprise," Ming-Hua dejectedly said.
"Back up plan," Ghazan said to P'li, who then inhaled and shot a blast out of her forehead, taking out one spotlight, then doing the same to another before sending a blast that curved and hit the pillar that Mako, Bolin and Dinobot were behind, sending them flying backwards while Asami and Knock Out came out of their guest house and ran to the three of them and Wheeljack, Prowl, Arcee and Blaster also approached them.
"We can't let them take her," Mako said as he struggled to sit up.
"I don't think they're going to get far," Asami reponded. "Look." Suddenly, Demolishor rolled into the scene in his tank mode, firing an onslaught of laser blasts, causing dust to cloud Zaheer and the others' vision once they had reached the middle of the courtyard. Zaheer immediately airbended the dust away, only for two Zaofu guards, Lin, Su and her twin sons to bend metal plates around them, completely boxing them in.
"We have you surrounded, it's over," Kuvira said. "Release the Avatar!" Suddenly, the plates began to move upwards, startling everyone since no one was metalbending. Then, from a hole in the ceiling, The Fallen descended downward, his hands reached outward before moving them upward, launching the plates up before they descended to the ground, one of them knocking Demolishor down, all while Ghazan lava bended the ground around them, creating a moat of lava. The Fallen then fell to the center of the courtyard and was about to grab Korra, only for a laser blast to hit him in the shoulder. He looked to his right to see Elita-1 perched on the roof of one of the guest homes with a sniper in her hands and with Moonracer, Firestar and Flareup behind her.
"Leave her alone ya tin-plated yahoo!" Flareup shouted as The Fallen growled and teleported to the building, knocking the four femme-bots off their feet and attempting to stab Moonracer with his staff, only for her to roll away from it. While that was going on, everyone else was busy trying to dodge P'li's attacks.
"I'm going to create some cover," Zaheer said. "We're getting out of here." He then began to twirl his glider staff rapidly, gathering smoke when a Zaofu guard suddenly shot out a cable, catching his wrists and pulling Zaheer out of the moat. Ghazan tried to intercept by shooting a molten rock, but another guard shifted a metal plate to block it. When Zaheer landed on the ground, he quickly freed himself before airbending another guard at a nearby pillar while the guard that caught him sent a slab towards him, only for Zaheer to smack it away with his glider. Meanwhile, Wheeljack, Mako, Arcee, Bolin, Blaster, Lin, Dinobot and Cheetor were firing shots from behind a metal shield while also ducking down to avoid the various projectiles. Ming-Hua suddenly came in and blocked one of Cheetor's laser blasts from P'li before said firebender fired a blast that curved to the group, only for Su, Wing and Wei to bend a betal plate to block it. The three of them ran to the plates to seek cover while Rattrap rolled towards them as well in his rat mode before transforming into his robot mode.
"How did they get in here?" Lin asked Su, only for another explosion to interrupt her.
"That does not matter!" Dinobot interrupted. "We need to focus on not letting them escape!"
"How!?" Rattrap asked. "In case you haven't noticed lizard-breath, there's a moat of lava separating us from them. There's no way to cross it!"
"We don't need to cross it," Su stated. "Lin and I can drop in from the dome on cables."
"That's a great idea, except you'll get blown up the second that third-eyed freak sees you," Rattrap sarcastically stated before another explosion was heard, causing everyone to flinch.
"She's a comustion bender," Su stated. "If one of you can stun her, her powers will be knocked out temporarily."
"Bolin can land a shot," Mako said.
"I can?" Bolin asked in disbelief.
"You have to take her out right before we drop down," Su explained before she, Lin, Wing and Wei walked off.
"We're all gonna die, aren't we?" Rattrap asked.
"Shut up Rattrap," Cheetor replied.
Outside, Lin and Su climbed up to the roof of the dome with tied cables around their torsos which were attached to a big reel before Wing pulled out a radio.
"Open the hatch," he said before the hatch dropped down, giving the group a perfect view of the lava moat.
"If we get in trouble, metalbend us up," Su said to Wei.
"We're in position," Wing said through the radio.
"Copy that," Mako said on the other side before turning to Bolin. "It's Bolin time."
"All right," Bolin replied, trying to motivate himself. "Bolin time. Bolin time!" He then stood up and bent a small rock towards P'li, only for her to duck and fire a blast from her forehead and dodge another rock. A third rock then came her way only for Ming-Hua to catch it and swing it away. She then sent out some water while Ghazan shot some lava. Mako was able to bend a huge stream of fire to intercept it and push it away.
"I can't get a clean shot!" Bolin said as P'li shot another blast, only for Dinobot to shoot a laser beam from his optics and cause it to explode prematurely.
"You must!" he said.
"Are we a go?" Wei asked via the radio before Dinobot immediately ran to it and picked up the receiver.
"No go," he said.
"Copy that, we're a go," Wei responded, much to Dinobot's frustration.
"I said no go!" he shouted.
However, Wei didn't hear him and he and his brother gave their mother and aunt a thumbs up before they jumped down the hatch, much to the others' horror. Even worse was that P'li noticed.
"Bolin, take the shot!" Blaster said as P'li got into a stance to blow Su and Lin away, but then Bolin was able to steel himself and earthbend a small pebble towards P'li. The pebble was able to rocket across the moat and make contact with P'li's forehead, stunning her and resulting in an explosion that knocked the others to the ground, allowing Lin and Su to continue to descend, only for the roar of a jet engine and a transformation sound to catch them off guard. Suddenly, Thrust appeared before the two of them and sliced their cables before grabbing them and tossing them to the ground, allowing him to grab Korra and transform back into his jet mode and fly towards the hole on the dome.
"Fall back at once!" he said, but not before Wheeljack lept to the island and fired multiple missiles out of desperation, only for Thunder to appear on the back of Thrust and fire multiple missiles that detonated Wheeljack's prematurely. Hearing this caused Zaheer and The Fallen to notice. Right when Firestar was about to fire a flamethrower from each of her palms at The Fallen, he quickly teleported out of the city while Zaheer flew to the island and airbended Wheeljack off of it and cover him and his team in smoke before spreading it to the others, who covered their eyes, and much to their shock, once the dust settled, everyone was gone, including Thrust and Korra. Realizing what had happened, Wheeljack fell to his knees and looked up at the hole, his eyes widened in terror.
Afterward, everybody, along with Sideways, met back up inside Su's office, and Wheeljack had a few things to say to Su.
"How could you let this happen!?" he asked. "You told us this was one of the most secure places in the world!"
"It is," Su responded. "I don't know how this happened. Obviously this was a well-planned operation, so don't blame me." It was then that Kuvira walked to the open doorway.
"We searched the entire estate but there's no sign of them," she reported.
"Well keep looking!" Lin shouted before Kuvira gave a bow and departed.
"It would appear that they had some inside knowledge of the city," Sideways stated. "Maybe they were working with someone."
"It must have been one of the guards," Dinobot suggested. "They would not have entered the city otherwise."
"I agree," Sideways responded.
"Question them all!" Su ordered. "Whoever betrayed my city will suffer the consequences!" With that, she stormed out of her office.
The next morning, Su, Lin, Wheeljack and Demolishor all watched as Sideways interrogated the guards of the city with the use of a lie detector.
"What is your full name?" Sideways asked.
"My name is Xu Guan," the guard answered.
"Where were you last night?"
"I was patrolling the South wall of the Bei Fong estates."
"Do you have any knowledge of the people who kidnapped the Avatar?"
"I have absolutely no knowledge of the people that kidnapped Korra."
Every one of them were telling the truth, so Sideways moved on to question Varrick.
"What was I doing last night?" Varrick asked with Zhu Li behind him. "Same thing I always do. From nine to ten, I checked my body for ticks. Lyme Disease is a serious killer. Then I did my nightly Varri-calisthenics followed by thirty minutes of breath holding. I filmed the whole thing if you want to watch it."
"That...won't be necessary," Sideways responded with his hand on his forehead before Varrick and Zhu Li left the room.
"Maybe it was the Decepticon you've been harboring," Lin bitterly suggested to Su.
"Demolisher couldn't have done it," Su stated.
"And why is that?" Wheeljack asked.
"He's...well...not smart enough to come up with something like this," Su answered.
"Yeah, I'm a moron," Demolishor added before a few seconds later realizing what he had said. "Wait..."
"This is a waste of time," Wheeljack said. "Just bring in the next guard." The door then opened, allowing a young male guard to step in and take a seat.
"Give me your name and tell me where you are from," Sideways ordered.
"I'm Hong Li," the guard responded. "I was born and raised here in Zaofu."
"Do you have any knowledge of the people who kidnapped the Avatar?" Sideways asked.
"No," Hong Li answered, only for the lie detector to start beeping and sor Sideways to lean forward.
"Did you help the attackers enter Zaofu last night?" he asked.
"No, of course not," Hong Li answered.
"You're lying," Sideways calmly responded, much to Hong Li's shock.
"What!? No I'm not!" he pleaded, only for Su to storm up to him and grab gim by the armor, pinning him against the wall.
"How did they get in and out!?" she shouted. "Where are they now!?"
"I don't know!" Hong Li answered. "I'm telling you I didn't help them!"
"You're a traitor to the entire clan!" Su shouted.
"We should search his place," Sideways suggested while Hong Li's eyes widened and quiver with fright.
After the interrogation, Sideways, along with Demolishor, Dinobot, Rattrap, Wheeljack, Arcee, Blaster and Knock Out searched through Hong Li's apartment for evidence when Arcee suddenly found a piece of paper that caught her attention.
"Guys, check this out," she said as everyone gathered around to look at what the paper said. "'Team assembled. Ready to rendezvous.'"
"And get a load of this," Rattrap added as he handed Sideways a book.
"These are the guards' log books," Sideways said as he went through the book. "Their schedules and routes are all here."
"That guard knows everything!" Wheeljack shouted. "We need to get him to talk."
"No, let's give him some time to sweat it out," Sideways suggested, which confused Wheeljack. "He'll talk soon enough." With that, he walked off as Arcee glanced at him suspiciously.
Later, Team Avatar, along with Dinobot, Rattrap and Cheetor were taking a look at the cooled and hardened lava from the courtyard, Naga sniffing through the lava along with Rattrap in his rat mode.
"I don't understand why we're not talking to that guard right now," Mako said. "Every minute we waste here, those guys get further away with Korra. I mean, how does a random guard get involved with a group of super criminals?"
"What do you mean?" Asami asked.
"The guard's only eighteen years old, and he lived his entire life here," Arcee answered. "Zaheer and his flunkies have been in prison for more than thirteen years."
"I don't know, but the evidence is pretty overwhelming," Cheetor answered, none of the group aware that Varrick was standing from the back of a metal shield.
"Maybe a little TOO overwhelming?" he asked, catching everyone off guard.
"What are you doing here Varrick?" Knock Out dejectedly asked as Zhu Li walked to him with a few rocks in hand.
"Collecting pumice stones with Zhu Li," Varrick answered. "That lavabender did a lot of damage, but he makes a nice exfoliating rock. And when you got calluses like mine, you take all the pumice stones you can get your hands on. Or in my case, feet!" To prove his point, Zhu Li was busy scrubbing Varrick's sole with a pumice stone, which disgusted all of the humans, especially Asami.
"What were you saying about the evidence?" Arcee asked.
"I was saying saying that I can smell a conspiracy when I see one," Varrick answered. "Look, if I was trying to set someone up, I would tell everyone he's guilty, and then plant the evidence in his apartment as proof."
"Oh, you mean exactly what you did to me?" Mako asked as he shot a glare at Varrick.
"Yes! Just like that," Varrick answered. "Remember how great that worked? Well, not for you."
"You're right," Arcee responded. "All the evidence points to this guard, but maybe he's just the fall guy."
"But who?" Bolin asked.
"By the only one who wasn't questioned," Arcee answered. "Sideways."
The group immediately headed for Sideways' home, immediately crouching down in front of a window while Bolin popped his head up.
"Anything?" Dinobot asked.
"He's not home," Bolin answered. "Or he's hiding. Or he's invisible!"ly?'
"Oh, for bootin' up cold, really!?" Rattrap exclaimed.
"What?" Bolin asked. "You saw how cone-head could turn invisible."
"We have to get in there and find some evidence that links Sideways to Zaheer and The Fallen," Mako stated. "Otherwise, Su won't believe us." The group then opened the door and walked inside where a stasis pod was located, probably so a Cybertronian could rest, but also noticing a particular door on one of the walls.
"There's nothing beyond that section of the house," Asami stated.
"Not to mention there's no door on the other side," Cheetor added. "Why would a door be there?"
"One way to find out," Wheeljack answered as he got out a hacking device and used it to unlock the door. He and Dinobot then slid the door open, revealing a hidden staircase.
"Looks like we found how those clowns got in and out," Rattrap stated, before a voice caused everyone to freeze.
"So, the truth has been revealed," Sideways said, causing everyone to immediately turn to him.
"Sideways," Wheeljack growled. "Where's Korra!?"
"Unimportant," Sideways answered. "All you need to know is that you will never see her again."
"Like hell!" Wheeljack shouted before getting out his swords and charging at Sideways, only for him to leap above him and dash through the others with ease and through the door before pushing a button on his wrist that caused a metal wall to separate the group and the staircase.
"Rattrap!" Cheetor said.
"Yeah yeah, I'm on it," Rattrap responded as he placed a bomb on the wall and set the timer. "Clear!" He and the others then immediately got out of the way before the bomb blasted a hole in the wall and everyone dashed down the staircase and opened the door, only to reveal a detonator attached to a can of blasting jelly which immediately exploded in front of them. Everyone would have been incinerated had Mako not firebended the flames away from them.
"Ugh!" Wheeljack exclaimed as he and the others walked inside the secret room, only to find that Sideways was not in it.
"He's gone," Blaster said.
"Look!" Cheetor said as he pointed to a hole at the end of the room completely covered by dirt. "He must have escaped through there. Bolin, can you clear it out?" In response, Bolin swung his arms to the side and the debris partted in the middle.
"What happened?" Lin asked as she and Su entered the room. "We heard an explosion."
"Where's Sideways?" Su asked.
"Your 'trusted military advisor' is a no good traitor!" Rattrap answered which caused Su's jaw to drop. "He lied to us about the guard."
"What?" Su asked in disbelief. "No..."
"We confronted him and he bolted through here," Wheeljack added as he gestured to the hole before Lin slammed her foot down, sending something.
"He must have collapsed the tunnel behind him," she reported.
"And rigged an explosion to destroy any evidence that might have been here," Dinobot added.
"This is how Zaheer got in and out," Blaster said. "Sideways was the traitor."
"I...trusted him..." Su said as Kuvira ran into the room.
"Is everyone okay?" she asked.
"Sideways is a fugitive," Lin answered. "Get all available guards to search the mountainside and find out where this tunnel exits immediately!" After Kuvira had left, Lin laied a hand on Su's shoulder to try and comfort her.
As night began to fall, everyone met back up in Su's office, when Kuvira ran to the doorway, standing at attention.
"What did you find?" Lin asked.
"We located the end of the tunnel, but there's no sign of him," Kuvira answered. "Just some fresh tire tracks."
"He had an escape plan all ready to go," Mako stated as Su hunched over on the sofa slightly.
"I trusted him with my life," she said, still in disbelief. "I thought we were family, but it was all a lie."
"Whoever these guys are, they're more powerful than we thought, and more dangerous," Arcee stated.
"That's why we need to find them," Wheeljack replied. "Naga can track the tires' scent."
"And I bet if we find Sideways, we find Zaheer and Korra," Knock Out added.
"No," Lin suddenly said, causing everyone to look in shock as she stood up. "We can't just follow him without a plan."
"Every minute we wait, we risk Korra's life more and more," Wheeljack argued.
"It's too dangerous right now," Lin retaliated.
"It's my job to protect Korra!" Wheeljack shot back.
"Don't lecture me about jobs!" Lin shouted.
"Enough!" Su interrupted as she stood up. "Listen to Lin. We can't just go after Sideways without a plan." Wheeljack was about to argue with her, but when he couldn't think of a decent response, he simply sighed.
"Fine," he said.
Afterward, Wheeljack walked back to his guest house and sat down on one of the chairs, his hand on his forehead in frustration as he tried to figure out how to get Korra back when he heard the door knock. When he went to answer it, he was surprised to find Su on the other side.
"You really think Naga could track Sideways?" she asked.
"Yes," Wheeljack answered.
"Then go and find him," Su responded, much to Wheeljack's surprise. "I've kept the East Gate open."
"What?" Wheeljack asked. "Why?"
"Because I want you to hunt down Sideways and bring him back to me," Su answered.
"But you said-" Wheeljack was about to say.
"I said what Lin wanted to hear, and I bought you guys some time," Su interrupted. "Go. I'll deal with Lin in the morning."
"Thank you," Wheeljack said with a smile and a bow.
Far away from Zaofu, Korra slowly began to awaken, still feeling weak when she saw Zaheer in front of her. She was about to attack, only to find that she was being held against the wall with a straight-jacket and with a metal plate on her mouth to prevent her from breathing fire. She then tried to change into her techno-organic form, only for small devices on her arms to generate massive amounts of electricity into her body, causing her to yell out in pain.
"There's no need for aggression," Zaheer calmly said. "You are in no position to attack, and the Shirshu toxins still have not worn off."
"I take it you're Zaheer?" Korra asked, to which Zaheer nodded once in response. "What do you want with me?"
"I'll answer whatever questions you have," Zaheer responded as he sat down on a rock in front of Korra in a calm state. "You deserve that much."
"Who are you people, and why did you kidnap me?" Korra asked, trying to be as calm as possible.
"We are part of a secret society dedicated to restoring freedom to the world," Zaheer answered. "We are the Red Lotus."
"Red Lotus?" Korra asked. "Are you related to the White Lotus?"
"We are what the White Lotus was meant to be," Zaheer answered. "But after the Hundred Year War, the White Lotus lost its true purpose. Its members came out of hiding and openly served the Avatar. They became nothing but glorified bodyguards who served corrupt nations. So a great man named Xai Bau broke from the White Lotus and began his own society."
"That's a great story, but it doesn't explain why you tried to take me when I was a kid," Korra replied.
"That was Unalaq's idea," Zaheer answered, causing Korra's eyes to widen.
"What?" she asked. "My uncle was part of the Red Lotus?"
"I met your uncle when I was a teenager after we had both joined the Red Lotus," Zaheer explained. "We learned about Raava and Vaatu and how Avatar Wan foolishly severed them, disrupting the balance of the world forever."
"Avatar Wan wasn't foolish," Korra argued. "He was trying to restore balance."
"He closed the portals, severing humans from spirits," Zaheer stated. "Even you realize the error in his ways."
"So all along, you and my uncle planned to use me to open the portals and release Vaatu?" Korra asked. "That's why you tried to take me when I was a kid?"
"Yes, but for different reasons than you might expect," Zaheer answered. "Our main goal was to have you open the portals, but not to free Vaatu. To free someone who's power one can barely even imagine."
"Wait, if my uncle came up with a plan to abduct me when I was a kid, why wasn't he caught?" Korra asked.
"He wasn't with us that night, and he covered up his involvement afterwards," Zaheer answered.
"So he betrayed you just like he betrayed me," Korra responded.
"Yes," Zaheer replied. "He allowed me and my friends to remain imprisoned while he pursued his own selfish goals."
"And what exactly is your mission?" Korra asked.
"I want what you want," Zaheer answered. "To restore balance to the world."
"I don't think our ideas of balance are the same," Korra remarked.
"Are you sure about that?" Zaheer asked. "You kept the spirit portals open, but why stop there? Bringing the spirits back should only be the beginning."
"What do you mean?" Korra asked.
"The idea of having nations and governments is as foolish as keeping the human and spirit realms separate," Zaheer answered. "You've had to deal with a pacifist president and a tyrannical queen. Don't you think the world would be better off if leaders like them were eliminated?"
"No," Korra answered, shocked. "I mean, I don't really agree with what the Earth Queen has done, but taking out world leaders isn't the answer."
"It wasn't too long ago that the airbenders were nearly all wiped out thanks to the Fire Lord's desire for world dominance," Zaheer retaliated. "True freedom can only be achieved when oppressive governments are torn down."
"But that won't bring balance," Korra argued. "It will throw the world into chaos."
"Exactly," Zaheer responded. "The natural order is disorder. Do you know who once said, 'New growth cannot exist without first the destruction of the old'?"
"The wise Guru Laghima," Zaheer answered. "An airbender." Hearing that caused Korra's eyes to widen in shock.
"You know, being locked away for so many years, I was beginning to lose hope," Zaheer continued as he stood up. "But when I awoke with airbending, I knew I would be the one to help destroy the old world and plant seeds for a new world to flourish. And when my master arrives, nothing will be able to stop this new change. Not even you."
"What do you mean by that?" Korra asked, only to hear the rumbling footsteps of The Fallen as he emerged from the shadows and approached her.
"Be thankful you will not be alive to find out," he answered as Korra's eyes widened in terror.
Back at New Iacon, Rodimus was busy observing the damage that the vines had done to a shopping center when he heard something. Screaming. Horrible bloodcurdling screaming, and the voice made him realize exactly who it was.
"Korra..." he said before immediately transforming and driving towards one of the bridges away from the city.
*QUE LEGEND OF KORRA ENDING THEME*
