"We found them! Repeat: we found them!"
Noatak and Asami squinted as light started shining down on them, rubble and brick being cleared away. Asami was still holding Kuvira, still unconscious, safe and unharmed, but unconscious. They couldn't have been under there for more than a few minutes, Kuvira out for less than that.
Police officers cleared the last of the rock away, along with Mako. He stepped up onto the rubble, looking down at the three of them. "Are you guys okay?" he asked immediately.
Asami and Noatak exchanged a look, then nodded. "Yeah," she breathed. "We're okay."
Mako almost went to say something more, but Kuvira's inactivity caught his attention. "Oh no," he said with worry, eyes growing wide. "W-What happened to her?"
"Nothing," Asami said. "She..." She stopped, not about to make eye contact with Noatak, thus giving away what he just did to Kuvira. "Sh-she started having a panic attack." It was the truth. Nothing more had to be shared. No one needed to know that Noatak bloodbended her. What extra harm would come his way then?
"O-Oh," Mako said. "I-Is...she going to be okay?"
Asami smiled wanly. "She's Kuvira. She's had worse. She'll wake up soon."
Mako admitted a nod there. "You're right. Let's get her somewhere safe." He gave Noatak a small encouraging smile. "You too, Noatak."
Noatak only nodded, still a little shaken by everything that'd just occurred. After Asami and Mako carried Kuvira out of the pocket, he let the officers take him by his cuffed arms. They lifted him up, but let him steady himself on his own.
"Are you injured?" one of them asked flatly.
Noatak shook his head. "No." As they started leading him towards the embassy, he tried to look back at Kuvira. Asami and some paramedics were setting her onto a stretcher, Mako reluctantly running off to help and direct other officers. Even though Noatak had only rendered her unconscious, that image stung within him. Kuvira, the strong-willed resilient woman she was, being over-tended to like a simple cut on the arm of a finicky child.
Another weight of guilt on his conscience.
After the bomb had went off, much of the crowd had scattered in panic. Only a few reporters stayed, taking pictures of the scene for their next scoop: Amon getting bombed. As if news about him wasn't prevalent enough already.
The police made sure everyone was okay, especially Kuvira and Asami. They were escorted to safety, but not Noatak. He wondered if his guards could be blamed for negligence, but at least two officers kept close supervision on him at all times, as their help was needed in the clearing and cleaning up. That didn't quite help with his nerves though.
Once most of the victims were declared safe, backup arrived from the United Forces. A large squad came to set up a perimeter, clean up, and possibly apprehend whoever the bomber was. Despite all the investigating to come, they would never be identified, or found, by anyone.
"Best guess is it was a suicide-bombing," Mako said quietly, standing next to the captain of the squad, General Iroh's personal squadron.
"Whoa," Lee said. "We really gonna go that far with this?"
"Haven't found a body yet," Mako said, looking behind himself. "And at this point, don't think we will. Casualties are at a minimal, just injuries so far. If it weren't for that earthbender, half the crowd would be gone."
"Mm," Lee said with a nod. "Got it." He looked at a lieutenant of his, exchanging a nod to begin searching. "Thanks for the info, detective. We'll make this right."
"Of course," Mako said. He hesitated, then gave a salute, smirking. "Thank you for arriving on such short notice, Captain."
"Sure thing," Lee said, tipping the the brim of his cap.
Mako stopped, then chuckled. "Just when I think you're tryin' to be serious, huh?"
"Iroh says it helps keep morale," Lee said with a smirk. "C'mon, there's an embassy to clean up."
"Right away," Mako said, running off.
Lee sighed and looked around. Officers still hurried back and forth, but were indeed slowing. The last of the victims appeared to be getting the treatment they needed, or at least moved to safety. It was a mild chaos, but he'd grown accustom to worse.
He brushed past four officers carrying someone away on a stretcher, and looked up. He froze.
Noatak looked around, standing alone amidst the dwindling commotion, searching aimlessly for his guards. He looked behind himself, and saw Lee. They both locked eyes, staring at each other.
"L-Lee," Noatak breathed, the relief of a friendly face washing over him.
Lee was speechless as well. "N-Noatak..."
They both soon started to laugh, the first true moment of levity for them today. Lee shook his head, grinning. "Man...l-look at you. I...I didn't think I'd get t—"
"Come on!" one of the guards said, he and another taking Noatak by his arms, leading him away. "Site's clear! We're leaving now!"
Lee halted. He could only watch as they dragged Noatak away, back into the embassy. He tried to see his face one last time, but couldn't.
His lieutenant jogged up next to him. He almost spoke, but stopped once he noticed the look on Lee's face. "Cap?" he asked, looking from him to Noatak. "Was that...?"
"Yeah," Lee mumbled, quiet.
The lieutenant winced, nodding sympathetically. He glanced behind himself. "I...I-I'm sorry, Captain. C'mon, we need to get these people medical attention. They need our help."
"Yeah," Lee mumbled, beginning to walk with him. "Help."
#
After another truck ride, Noatak crashed against the floor of his cell, rolling with cuffed hands, renewly chi-blocked of course. The cramped familiarity of isolation hit him like a brick wall.
"Spirits," one of the guards spat with annoyance. "Who thought it was a good idea to let him out of this place? He got the Prime Minister bombed. And Miss Sato too. No one'd have gotten hurt if they'd just kept him in here."
"Heard it was the Prime Minister's idea," the other said with a shrug. "She wanted to do this. She and him are pretty tight from what I've heard, 'specially with the Avatar."
The first guard snorted as they started to walk out. "Well look what that got her..."
"Anyone know when his trial's supposed to be?"
The door was slammed shut, leaving Noatak to shiver. It was not because of any cold, but from the dreaded realization.
That guard was right. Kuvira and Asami getting bombed, Bolin getting assaulted all those weeks back, when he bloodbended Mako all those months ago in Gaoling, now along with Kuvira...
All these people getting hurt, my friends...because of me, by me, because they're trying to help me.
I was never going to help people, everything that I've done. I was never a 'solution.' I'm the problem.
Guilty. Guilty. You deserve to be rotting in here.
"No," Noatak muttered. He slumped, shakily cradling his head. "No...no..."
#
Korra walked across the Air Temple Island plaza, quietly humming to herself. She and Qarnau had left the Spirit World not too long ago, and went their separate ways, him most likely going back to his office. It was nice to see Ming-Hua and Ghazan again, even if it had been while trying to change the mind of one of the most narcissistic people alive. Still, they were doing good. That's all she could ask for.
Qarnau on the other other, did just as much as expected. Was he changed? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Korra wondered whose path his would be most like: Kuvira's, Noatak's, Zaheer's, or Unalaq's? An immediate change? A slow change? A change too late? Or no change at all?
Korra sighed. She doubted one, hoped for two, and feared the last. She kept coming back to the compromise that maybe his change wouldn't matter for Noatak's freedom. Kuvira's speech would hopefully be the cause of that.
Multiple people were always more malleable than one, with the right words. A public demand for Noatak's release was a polarizing matter to go against to say the least. If the world had grown to accept Kuvira after what happened, then Noatak couldn't be too far off.
But, Korra worried, Noatak was being held in the city that he had ransacked. If Kuvira hadn't been transported to an Earth Kingdom penitentiary and pardoned by Wu himself, her fate instead decided by the world...
Korra stopped herself and shook her head. Wu was a blessing, a blessing disguised as a nuisance at first to most, but a blessing nonetheless. She and Kuvira were both eternally grateful for his actions. He was an ally Korra didn't know they needed or could have. Not to mention Raiko was now the current holder of that title. Could his help still be useful?
Maybe. Maybe they wouldn't need him again. Kuvira was incredibly perceptive, kindly charismatic, and could easily find sympathy with others. The biggest question on Korra's mind at the moment was had the public listened to the Prime Minister, and saw Noatak for what he really was?
Guess I'll just have to see.
Korra walked into Tenzin's home, not sure what she expected to find. She went into the living room. Standing by the doorway in a group was Mako, General Iroh, and Lee.
"Iroh!" Korra exclaimed, smiling with excitement. "Lee! You guys finally made it!"
They all looked at her at the sound of her voice. Iroh nodded, his hands behind his back. "Hello, Korra," he said, trying to smile.
"Hey," Lee said, also friendly, but noticeably subdued.
Korra blinked and furrowed her brow at their soberness. In fact, everyone seemed a little down. She looked at the couch, where Bolin and Asami sat either side of Kuvira, rather tentatively. Kuvira was holding her head.
"Wait," Korra said, stepping in concern, looking at her. "W-What happened to you?"
"Nothing," Kuvira said wearily, not very convincing. "I...had a panic attack."
"What?!"
Kuvira worked up the oomph to keep talking, keeping her voice a little quieter than normal. "I...haven't had one quite like that in a while. Noatak bloodbended me unconscious, to stop it. Next thing I knew...Asami and the paramedics were waking me up."
Korra and Mako both looked at her with widened eyes, but only Mako said, "Oh."
"Yeah," Asami said to him, guilty. "Sorry I had to lie to you about it."
"N-No," Mako said, shaking his head. "I-I get it, totally. That's the last thing the public needs to hear."
Korra blinked worriedly, confused. "W-Why did she have a panic attack in first place?"
"We," Asami said, trying to relay it as delicately as she could, "all got...bombed."
"B-Bombed?!" Korra exclaimed.
"Can someone please get Baatar on the radio for me?" Kuvira asked with a slightly raised voice, her eyes closed, her palm to her forehead. "He'll want to know what happened. I better tell him and the kids myself first before word spreads, so he doesn't worry."
"Sure thing," Bolin said, standing up briskly. "Let's go." He stopped himself, then gingerly added, "Slowly."
Kuvira smiled as he helped her onto her feet. They, slowly, made their way out of the room to the radio.
Mako looked to Korra, her somewhere between confused and terrified. "No one was seriously injured," he assured. "Kuvira had it worst, which, wasn't that bad, all things considered. She's been unconscious a lot over the years...right?"
"I...guess," Korra said with a slight clench of her teeth, Lee slumping down into a chair with a sigh. "W-Where did the bomb come from?"
Mako exchanged a look with Iroh. "That's the thing. We...have no idea."
Korra looked down in thought. Her eyes darted over the floor. Soon, she started to scowl, muttering, "That's why he agreed to go into the Spirit World with me..."
"What?" Asami asked.
Korra looked up slowly, angrily. "Qarnau. He placed the bombs. He had them be placed. That's why he agreed so easily to letting us do this! He's...he's been sabotaging us this whole time! He'll do whatever it takes to keep Noatak in prison! He—!"
"Korra!" Mako said. "Calm down! We can't jump to conclusions like that!"
"Besides," Iroh said, "there's no evidence that would imply that. Best guess is it was the Red Lotus."
"W-What?" Asami asked. "No, it...it can't be."
"The Red Lotus?" Korra said. "I thought you said the Red Lotus was going away!"
"It is!" Iroh said, defensive. "It's not the Red Lotus, just whatever's remaining of it! This must've been a small rag-tag band trying to retain control, and obviously failing."
"If bombing the Earth Embassy," Lee said hoarsely, turned away from everyone, "was their ace in the hole, then they're more desperate than we think they are."
Everyone looked at him, shocked, concerned. "Lee," Korra asked gently, "are you okay?"
"S-Sorry," he said. "I...saw Noatak for, like, two seconds while we were cleaning up the embassy." He sniffed, rubbing his arm across his face. "It kinda got to me."
Korra furrowed her brow with worry. "Do you want to go visit him?"
"Don't I, like, have to get cleared first?"
"I'm the only one that's not supposed to be visiting him," she said with a shrug. "Lin can make it happen, I'm sure."
Lee looked at the floor. "I...I don't know. Maybe."
Korra nodded, Lee's current state not giving her much enthusiasm, the same as poor Maran was. She looked down and sighed, trying to recap. "Okay, so: you all got bombed, and Noatak...bloodbended Kuvira." She grimaced. Noatak doing it as a last resort to put her unconscious made complete sense to her, but...Didn't they know her breathing technique? Inhale deeply, hold it, release slowly? Maybe not. Perhaps she'd have to teach everyone for future instances. "Aside from that, did everything...work?"
"Honestly," Mako said, "I don't think it...didn't not work."
"The public," Kuvira tiredly called from the next room, "was initially skeptical, but they seemed to be warming up to him, much like how they did with me."
"Thanks, Kuvira!" Korra called back.
"Ughh," Kuvira's voice returned.
"Yeah," Mako affirmed. "There were a lot of reporters, a lot of them probably just there to fork out easy opinion pieces. Most of them didn't really want to admit that maybe Noatak was a victim in some of what happened to him, but...by the end, just before the bomb went, they all just seemed...surprised, that he didn't want to keep taking peoples' bending."
"Huh," Korra said, nodding thoughtfully. "Cool."
"But Noatak's not going to get out of prison overnight," Asami added. "Unfortunately."
"Agreed," Iroh admitted. "Like with Kuvira, Noatak would have to save some political figure from being killed to get an immediate reaction. The public's going to have to marinate on this for little."
"But how do we know people are actually gonna do that?" Lee asked.
"What?" Asami asked back.
"There was a bomb," Lee clarified. "That's some pretty tense stuff. Violence is exciting. How do we know people aren't just gonna say, 'he got bombed,' instead of, 'turns out he was just a confused guy who went through a lot'...and then got bombed?"
"Oh," Mako said, crossing his arms. "Yeah, good point..."
"Some might," Korra said. "There always will be people that'll ignore what's said, but...not everyone can ignore what Kuvira said, right?"
"We can only hope," Iroh agreed. "There's good people in this city, people that want the right thing to always be done. They'll step up."
Korra grimaced. "If only they'd step up more often..."
From the next room, Kuvira's soft chuckles and Baatar's voice could be heard. He was massively shocked that Kuvira'd been bombed, but also massively relieved that she was okay. The kids' voices could be heard as well, glad to be hearing that their mother was alright, glad to be hearing her voice in general. It gave Korra a little smile.
"How'd your meeting with Qarnau go?" Mako asked.
Korra looked at him, then slowly broke eye contact, her voice and expression neutral. "As expected."
"So...badly?"
"He didn't make any giant leaps if that's what you're wondering."
"Ghazan and Ming-Hua did their jobs?"
"Yeah. They were great, the happiest I've ever seen them."
Mako nodded, glad to hear they were doing fine. "Cool. But...if Qarnau didn't change his mind...was it a failure?"
Korra was silent for a moment. She rubbed her arm, still seeming zoned out. "I don't know..."
If it was...
#
How many times had Korra been to Qarnau's office, she wondered?
Well, she thought to herself as she walked through the door, she was back in it again, with another topic burning in her mind for "discussion."
"Hey," she tersely said to Qarnau, many folders neatly strewn on his desk where he sat.
"Korra, Korra," he said, almost smiling as he worked, "at least give me a day or two to think on Ghazan and Ming-Hua's words before you start throwing even more words my way—"
"That's why you agreed to visiting them," Korra accused.
Qarnau paused, then looked up at her. "I'm...not quite sure what your point is?"
"What happened at the Earth Embassy."
Qarnau hesitated. "There were...no major casualties? A miracle, if I can say as much—"
"You put the bombs," Korra spat. "You went with me to the Spirit World so that I couldn't be there. You played Kuvira and me."
Qarnau blinked and furrowed his brow, genuinely shocked. "W...N-No, I...Of course not. I'll do what I can to get what I want, but I wouldn't...bomb people."
"Are you sure?" Korra pressed.
"Korra, I..." Qarnau stopped himself, slow and deliberate. "I think we both know whatever I say isn't going to change your mind."
Korra stared at him, about to keep going, but stopped herself. He was right. Outright blaming him wouldn't get a straight answer out of him anyways, would it?
Qarnau huffed, his paperwork set aside. "Goodness, Korra. You wear yourself too thin too fast. Typical, if I can say so? Perhaps the therapist could use a session or two herself?"
"I'm fine," Korra said with forced force, clenching her fists. "I haven't felt this good in years."
"Your body, your thoughts," Qarnau said lightly, looking away. "I can't change either."
Korra looked down at the floor for a moment. She frowned angrily. "But you know what you can change?"
"Noatak's sentence?" Qarnau assumed.
"Bingo."
Qarnau grunted with a smirk, moving a folder. "I'll have you know that I've not come to a clear consensus on what his sentence should be myself. In fact, it's not my place to do as such anyways, not on my own accord. I follow the law. His trial hasn't happened yet, just so you know. There'll be a fair jury, everything. Noatak will even get to speak for himself if he wishes."
Korra was still looking at the floor, full of empty rage. These "promises" of his felt empty. But Qarnau didn't lie...at least, she was fairly certain he hadn't been. He was straightforward, which was sometimes even worse.
Qarnau glanced at her as they thought. He stroked his chin, a sort of smirk appearing on his face. "I've been curious. I suppose it's my turn to ask a question of you and your doings, if you'll allow me."
"Sure," she said, looking up.
"Why didn't you fight for Kuvira's freedom as much as you are for Noatak now?"
Korra hesitated, glancing away from him again in thought for a moment. "She...needed time to think, to balance herself out, somewhere away from people that hated her. I don't think I could've done anything to free her anyways."
"Oh?" Qarnau inquired. "What a reason. What makes her imprisonment any different from Noatak's? A less convenient location for you, perhaps. Surely you have more credibility with the world leaders than with me. Surely you could've done something to convince them to cut her a little slack."
"I did," Korra said. "Most of them were little step-by-step things, but they let me visit her from the start, once a week, when I was able."
"Only? That is far less than what you've done for Noatak."
Korra only looked at him, her brow furrowed with worry.
Qarnau stared at her as well. Soon, he started to smile. He leaned forward, prying. "No...I think I get it. You knew she should've been in prison. Deep down, you knew she deserved it."
"N-No," Korra whimpered, holding the sides of her head. "Don't say that. Not prison. It was horrible for her. It was...a-awful."
Qarnau laughed loudly, leaning back in his chair. "I almost want to call you pathetic! How can one person be so attached to another for no good reason! It's as if just hearing her name makes you falter."
Korra's worry started to vanish. Instead, she furrowed her brow in rage. "Shut up," she spat, stepping forward. "You know a lot of big words, but you don't know anything about people, about relationships, about emotion. Just look at you," she said, stepping again. "You're a lonely old man who does nothing but paperwork to try to make himself feel important."
Qarnau's initially prying demeanor suddenly dwindled, his voice quieter than normal. "I think you're crossing a line here, Korra."
"No," Korra growled coldly. "Sometimes people like you need a little jolt, a wake-up call."
"W-What happened to all that gentleness and kindness?" he asked, nearly turning away from her.
"What happened to Mom and Dad's proud little fisher boy, huh?" Korra asked softly, putting her hands on his desk. "What happened to wanting to help people for a living, to make a difference?" She scowled. "What happened to being a politician who gets what he wants without hurting people?"
"I-I—!" Qarnau's face contorted. "I didn't place the bombs. I would never stoop to something so barbaric."
"Locking up Noatak in a cage isn't barbaric?
"Korra, please, it's just a cell. It's perfectly humane."
Korra slammed her fist down against his desk, eyes shut towards the floor. "It's TORTURE!"
She kept her face to the floor for a long while, grinding her teeth, fists against the desk. There really was nothing more to her argument than that. It was so simple, so easy to not hurt people when they did wrong. Why couldn't people see that? Peace, kindness, a little bit of compassion...was that all so much to ask?
Qarnau said nothing, not immediately. Eventually, he took a folder, noisily scuffing it across his desk, leaving Korra to step away, still not looking at him. He spoke evenly, with little to no reaction at her outburst as he skimmed his papers.
"This has been a riveting few months for me, Korra. I dare say the most exciting run in my career as judge. You've made valiant strides in effort, but not much progress, it seems." He met her eyes. "His trial's in three short days, Avatar. What will you do?"
Korra turned and walked out of his office, muttering, "Whatever I need to."
Notes: Dang, these arguments. The places this one went. Korra's getting on edge. How reckless will she let herself go?
SO, I realize that this was far too much time between updates, for which I apologize as formally and whole-heartedly as I can. Family matters are important. This is just a hobby, but it's one that I wish I could be more consistent with. I am still definitely plugging away. I haven't forgotten about this, trust me, I could never.
There's four chapters left, two of them being shorter ones, so it can't take that long. Hope your Christmas went well! And I hope your new year will too! Start it off with some tragedy and angst.
Side note: I think I'm increasing the time-frame of this fic from only one month to three. It's not really gonna change anything story-wise or anything to come. I just feel one month wasn't quite enough time for everything that's happened to happen. Just know that Noatak's been imprisoned for almost three months instead of one if you've read this far.
Suyin and Noatak are getting their own chapter together next! A nice little calm before the storm. I love Su and I love Noatak, and I am greatly enjoying finishing their talk! I'll get back to working on it right away!