Bolin awoke to hands tying his hands down in chains and connecting to his feet. He hadn't died and he felt robbed. Why would the world torture him like this? It was better if he had died now.
But no, the universe decided to let him live and have him captured by the troops. Not only that when he looked to see who was dragging him and his friends back to the tent where he assumed was a prison, he saw Eska and Desna and another troop.
"Hello, turtleduck." Eska said as she dragged him towards the tent. At this point, Bolin didn't even put up a fight or cared at this moment. The only thing that would get him even remotely interested was Aylin and she was gone.
Once reaching the tent, they were tossed roughly onto the ground and Bolin grunted with the impact. His body was hurting and the fall right now made a throbbing pain appear in his chest.
He heard Mako shift and say, "We tried."
Bolin shifted to see Korra, her father and the rest of the group tied up in chains and sitting glumly at their defeat.
"Congratulations everyone." Someone said and they all turned to see the tent flaps open and Unalaq come in, dragging someone behind them. He tossed the person to the ground who grunted with the impact and Bolin felt his heart begin to race and come alive again. "You've all got front row seats for the beginning of the new world order."
It was Aylin. Aylin was alive!
Captured but alive.
He turned to see that her hair was a tangled mess and a few cuts were on her face and arms. Her clothing was torn in some places as if they had sliced it open and she was chained up.
"You don't know what you're doing, Unalaq. Freeing Vaatu won't make you powerful, it will only make you a traitor to everything good that's happened for the last 10,000 years." Korra said weakly but with conviction.
"You think what Avatar Wan did was good?" Unalaq asked. "Driving almost all the spirits from this world? The avatar hasn't brought balance, only chaos. You call yourself the bridge between the two worlds but there shouldn't be a bridge. We should live together as one."
"Even if Vaatu escapes, I'll put him right back in his prison just like Wan did."
"It's true that when Wan fused with Raava he tipped the scales in her favor but this time, I'll be here to level the playing field. When harmonic convergence comes, I will fuse with Vaatu and together we will become the new avatar. A dark avatar. Your era is over."
"Think about what you're doing." Korra's father said. "I've always known you've had a deep connection with the spirits. But you're still a man. You're still my brother. You're Eska's and Desna's father. Are you willing to throw your humanity away to become a monster?"
"I'll be no more of a monster than your own daughter. The only difference is that while she can barely recognize her spiritual power, I will be in complete alignment with mine. Vaatu and I will be as one. No one will be able to stand against us." Unalaq said before turning his attention to Eska and Desna. "Keep them locked up. After the harmonic convergence, I will come for Korra."
"Yes, father." Eska said before Unalaq and the rest of the troops left the tent.
Bolin heard Tenzin and Kya talking but he was more focused on Aylin who looked beaten and tired.
"Aylin." He whispered, tears filling his eyes and throat thick with emotion because she was alive. She shifted and blinked a few times and soft smile arose in her face as she said, "I tried to buy you guys time but it was too many."
She winced and curled into herself as she shuddered and Bolin felt his heart wince at her pain. Spirits, what kind of battle had she gotten herself into?
"It's okay. You're alive." He whispered and she looked at him and nodded.
"I'm glad you are too." She whispered and Bolin felt a twist in his gut at her words. There was those short few moments that he didn't care whether he lived or die when he thought he had lost her but he was never going to tell her that. She would hate him if he thought like that.
But those moments were the most darkest moments of his life and he never wanted to go back there ever again. Bolin struggled to sit up like the rest of them and Aylin tried to sit up but was having trouble until Mako used what he could to help her sit up and she leaned heavily into him.
There was not a moment of jealousy to even enter his mind because he knew that Aylin was injured and Mako was letting her lean against him. Spirits, it's what he would expect of his brother if Bolin himself could not do it himself to comfort her.
But he really wished that Aylin was leaning on him because he wanted to feel her against his body. He wanted to touch her to make sure she would never leave his side ever again.
"Eska, Desna, listen to me. You've got to help us stop Unalaq. I know he's your father but Vaatu's made him completely crazy."
"We will never turn on our father." Eska said.
"Please." Korra begged. "If you let me out now, I can still stop him from destroying everything. Once he fuses with Vaatu, no one will be safe. Desna, he won't be your father anymore."
Bolin saw Desna frown before anger contorted his features and he walked angrily towards Korra saying, "You don't know what you're talking about. Our father is the wisest man in the world, if he says what he is doing is right, I believe him."
Desna walked back to Eska and they all sat there, defeated and Bolin wanted to at least hold Aylin in his arms if the world as they knew it was going to die. Everything would be alright if he had her in his arms but right now, she was leaning on Mako and she kept wincing every few second and adjusting her side every few seconds. He was worried about her and asked her what was wrong but she just shook her head and said it was nothing.
Bolin heard screaming and they all turned to see see Eska and Desna fall to the ground as someone in a chair came sliding to a stop in front of them.
Bolin was dumbfounded to realize it was Bumi.
"Alright guys, rescue time!" Bumi said as Eska and Desna stood up and looked at Bumi with anger in their eyes. Before anyone could do or say anything, Naga came inside and slammed Eska and Desna together and pushing them to the ground.
Bumi quickly got to work in setting them all free and as soon as a person was free, they quickly worked on another. Bumi worked on Korra first who worked on her father and so forth.
Once Bolin was free, he immediately went to Aylin and worked on her chains and he helped her up as she cried out in pain.
"What is it?" He said worriedly as she winced.
"Nothing. It was a heavy battle, that's it." She said and she kissed his cheek before she pulled away. "Help Korra's father. He's really injured."
Bolin looked at her, reluctant to move until she gave him a quick kiss and pushed him gently towards Korra's father and he went to help his brother and carry him outside as everyone followed.
Once outside, they saw the whole campsite was destroyed and in shreds and Bolin wondered how in the world anyone could do that much damage.
"Bumi, how did you manage to take out this entire encampment on your own?" Tenzin asked, surprise and shock evident in his voice.
"I did it all with my trusty flute and- ah never mind you wouldn't believe it anyway. Let's get moving." Bumi said as he led the way towards the spirit portal as they all followed. Mako and Bolin were the ones carrying Korra's father between and it was apparent he was not doing well.
Once inside the forest that led towards the spirit portal, they all stopped and Korra's father let go of Bolin and said he only needed one person to carry him. Bolin was hesitant but followed his instruction and went to Aylin was leaning on Naga, clutching her side and looking a little pale.
"Aylin." He said and she opened her eyes and she looked at him with a small smile. He knew something wasn't right because it was evident she was in pain but she refused to tell him what was wrong.
"Are you alright?" He asked and all she did was nod. He went to her and pulled her to him to which she sucked in a sharp breath and tensed in his arms. He felt his heart squeeze with pain. She was hurt. Badly.
"Your hurt badly, aren't you?" He whispered in her ear, holding her as gently as he could. All she did was nod and that was all the answer he needed.
"You run into the portal. I'll try to hold off anyone who comes after you." Korra's father said as he pulled away from Mako and held his arm. It was clear he was in no way to fight. He was badly injured.
"No, you're too hurt. You need a healer." Korra said and Bolin saw Korra turn towards Aylin who had already pulled away from Bolin.
"Aylin, can you try to heal my dad as best as you can while Asami rides with you on Oogi and takes you to my mom?"
Aylin nodded and she was walking to Oogi as Bolin followed. He grabbed her gently and turned her around. "You need a healer, too. I want you to see one yourself when you get to her mom's place."
He expected Aylin to put up a fight but she simply nodded.
"Please be careful." She whispered as tears formed in her eyes. "I don't want to lose you. Do whatever you can to stay alive and come back to me."
His answer was to cup her face gently and kiss her passionately and gently as best as he could. She responded back, her body straining toward and he gently pulled her closer. They kissed for a long while until he heard Asami say, "We're ready."
He let her go and Aylin looked at him and said again, "I love you. Come back alive."
"I promise." He said and he helped her up on Oogi and she looked at him one more time before she turned her back on him and grabbed water from the air and began to work on Korra's father as he groaned. Naga and Pabu were already on top and Aylin was concentrating on healing Korra's father.
Bolin watched as Asami say, "Yip-yip." and Oogi lifted up into the air groaning as he flew. Bolin felt his heart squeeze the farther Aylin got away because he didn't know if this would be the last time he saw her. But he promised her to stay alive and come back and he was going to do that.
He promised her and he loved her and he needed her in his life. He would do everything he can to come back alive.
"Once we're inside, you go find Jinora. Mako and Bolin will take care of Unalaq while I close the portals so Vaatu can't escape."
Something about the portals closing set fear in Bolin's body as he said, "Wait a second, worst case scenario, so we're fighting Unalaq, you close the portals and let's just say something happens to you, are we going to be trapped in there for eternity?!"
It wasn't like he would be dead but he would be stuck inside a spirit portal forever! That was not a good thing at all.
"If everything goes as planned, we'll all walk out together after harmonic convergence." Korra said but still, Bolin couldn't help but feel the pit of his stomach fill with dread.
They were going into this blind and they were hoping to win which wasn't looking good.
"If not.." She let her sentence trail off because they already knew what she was going to say. They would either be stuck in the spirit portal forever or die because Vaatu will have won.
Korra sighed before facing them, determination set in her eyes as she said, "Let's go."
Bolin had no choice but to run with the rest of the team into the portal. One way or another they had to win. He had someone back home waiting for him and he was going to come back to her.