This might suck but at least I did it...I hope, that even for a second I have made someone smile.
Time changes everything
Kuvira knew what to do, save the kids and get rid of Mako. Sokka words had not changed her views a little about the inconvenience of letting him survive, responsibility was something she had felt before, when he was a kid with a bright smile, when he had been a small kid wanting his mom on the delirium of his sickness, not the adult friend of the Avatar that attacked Kuvira out of nowhere.
She hated to think about the promises she made days ago. He had deceived her all that time, that stupid didn't deserve to live, to hurt Kuvira again.
Those were toughs for another time, she had important things to do.
The fortress was different that the one Kuvira knew, almost all of it was underground according to Toph.
Jun, the bounty hunter had bid them farewell once the enemy looked slightly troublesome, Kuvira knew it had more to do with the price rate that any fear of part of the woman. Jun was reckless but she wouldn't work for free. She would be useful when Kuvira made herself the Emperator but not as much as Beifong.
Toph had been making a map of the place with her bending, she was awful skilled, she had made a map and localized the placement of 16 childs.
There was a dungeon divided in 4 half circles, in the center there was only one child, in that level there was an odd door that was according to Toph, "only there", leading to nowhere.
In the following levels the boys were distributed in 3,5 and 7. Those chambers were guarded of the outside by a lot of men.
Sokka looked thoughtful at the map, he was an estrategic boy and would figure out a plan to win even if they were outclassed. Kuvira didn't knew if he would be an hindrance or an asset for her, but now his mind would play on her favour go save the childs.
"We will divide ourselves in 3 groups, the first one 'A' will be a decoy in the superfice, that way we would divide their forces, the other two will sneak up. Group B will take the kids to the backside meanwhile the other will fight them until the childs are safe" Sokka said as he placed a rock in front of the replica of the fortress.
"Who would be in wich group?" Aang asked.
"Group A will be Aang and me, we will make ourselves to look as we were a bigger number that we are. Group B is Katara and Kuvira and C Toph and Zuko" Sokka said deep in thought "I'm sorry this is the best plan we have"
"We will make it work" Kuvira sentenced. It was easy to see the reasoning, Aang was the Avatar and could definitely look as an army with proper guidance. It would made a lot of man on the underground to go up and try to defend.
Toph and Zuko were very aggressive benders and could pull out a very solid resistance when Kuvira and Katara took the childs to safety.
It would work, the only thing left was what to do with Mako if he was still alive.
...
An hour later, everything looked perfect. They had knocked a few guards and where just outside the door that led to the children.
It had been easy to sneak up to the childs chambers, Zuko knew a lot about infiltration and with Toph knowing where the unseen enemies were all group B had to do was free the childs of the ropes that bind them to wooden beds.
The chambers were interconnected and inside were unwarded, according to Toph, so plan was to be sneaky.
"There is a door of metal before the inner dungeon" the earthbender said in a low voice as they walked in the four chambers, the place was big and was illuminated with red glowing rocks. It looked as a pit to the death.
"Let's divide" Katara whispered as she put her hand on Kuvira shoulder without asking permission "Zuko free the kids of this section, Toph of the one that follows and Kuvira and me of the inner part"
"Bossy" Toph sang and began to walk to the next chambers, Kuvira could make the face of Katara getting red and Zuko wisely slipped away. Childs.
It took them fifteen minutes to finally arrive to the metal door, it was cold and as Kuvira put her hand on it she could feel the fear creeping on her body, metalbending the door would be a painful task but she would be dammed if she let a kid die due her fear of a small cut.
Katara had been fast and she had already freed the three kids on that section, all were gathered behind the water bender and looked as confused as the time Kuvira had rescued them, and as before they knew how to keep themselves quiet.
"Can you earthbend a door?" the water bender asked, a hint of plea on her young voice.
"No, this place feels off. Any earthbending could cause it to come down" Kuvira said as she traced the border of the door, it was true and for much it forced Kuvira to metalbend the weak structure of the place made the earthbending of the guards as useless as hers, wich mean an adventage to Kuvira group.
"The one inside was the firebender" a girl snarled "We should simply go!"
The metalbender turned herself fast, her heart beating on her chest hotly.
"Mako risked himself to save you!" she kept her voice calm but her glare was enough to make the kid hide behind Katara.
After few seconds a realization dawned to the metalbender. Mako was impossible to rescue without metalbending, something only herself could do. Kuvira couldn't believe her luck. She had not to be as direct as she feared in getting rid of Mako, it was only necessary to walk away to outside and all would be solved.
"It must exist a way to open the door. It doesn't even has a lock" Kuvira said as she went to Katara side "Let's go with the rest and we will figure how"
Katara didn't try to talk to Mako, as Kuvira she walked away without giving him false hope. The metalbender could feel a cold on her chest and had to master herself to keep moving without looking back, it was necessary.
It didn't took long for group regruping, Katara looked unerved and gave a glance to Kuvira before talking with the other members of "Team Avatar"
"We...Toph, can you metalbend? Mako, the friend of Kuvira is behind a metal door The water tribe asked softly.
"I can try!"
Before Kuvira could think of any way to go away without returning for Mako a group of guards arrived to the scene, the blind girl was smirking and somehow Kuvira knew why.
Without their bending they had no chance against Katara and Zuko. Vitory could almost be tasted under her tongue, except one of the men lacked enough common sense and skills to know that the place was earthbend proof.
A chunk of earth almost hit Zuko from behind, Toph outsmarted the move with a fast attack to the guard chest with the same rock. Even if it had been just one earthbending move the place began to crumble almost immediately.
The stupid guard had bended too much and now the place was coming down, the guards noticed and began to run away.
"Let's go!" Zuko said as he pointed at the direction that the guards had gone.
"Wait!" Katara halted them all "What about Mako?"
"I'm in charge of him" Kuvira said, knowing that there was no time to lose, for the sake of the kids, she looked at the man that Toph had almost knocked out "I will figure a way to save him! You must take the kids outside. I'm an eartbender, saving Mako and me would be easier if I know you aren't here in danger! Go! fast! There is no time to lose"
"She is right" Zuko put his hand on Katara shoulder and she gave Kuvira a sorrowful look but she still went along the rest and banished on the next corner.
Kuvira could barely hear Toph saying "She is lying"
The guard began to compose himself and Kuvira kicked him back to the ground, she was still unable to bend but the force of an eleven years old girl over the head would have to do, from the corner of her eyes she could see the shine of a metal on the man waist and her rout of action shifted.
The man could barely believe that he had been launched to the wall by a metal plate on his throat, and Kuvira could see his bare fear without problem.
"Where is your leader?!" Getting rid of the monster that kidnapped kids was better than losing time at nothing, after all she couldn't reunite with the group so fast as if she hadn't tried to rescue Mako.
"Lord Piet is a ground below, at the other side of the dungeons! Please, let me go!" Kuvira smiled and launched the man to the rute of scape, he began to run full of fear.
The place was shaking and Kuvira could see a lot of men runing, no one of them had the authority of a Lord. Even if weak minded Lords liked to believe themselves above other humans.
Finding Lord Piet exactly where his man had said felt amazing, a winning after another was something she liked and knew she could do.
The man was old, his nose was crocked and looked as a good eartbender, he lacked enough reflexes to counter a fast attack of one of his metal lockers, the place glowed red thanks to the rocks and there was an odd smell that was familiar coming from everywhere.
"So you are the famous Lord Piet" Kuvira said as she looked at the constrained man.
"You are the sister of the firebender rat" he spatted.
"He isn't my brother" Kuvira corrected, her eyes traveled to images of monsters on papers on the wall.
"So you betray our country for NOTHING?" The man screamed.
"Betray?" Kuvira raised one of her eyebrows and felt as closing the casket of the man a little bit more, even if the cuts on her palms were beggining to burn.
"I have done all for our country! Sacrificed everything to bring us this! And you ruined that!" He was mad and reeking of self-righteousness, and that annoyed the metalbender.
"No, you kidnapped childs! You wanted to murder them for your sick plan! You didn't sacrifice anything" Kuvira said with icy voice"You only stole from others and deceived yourself to look as a hero, when you are only a coward"
"You don't understand, I did ALL for my country! Only I could do it! Those kids would have wanted it too!"
The metalbender felt repulsion on every inch of her body. They were just little children, they needed to be protected and one day they would live good on the Earth Nation, on her Empire, or anywhere... Their life's weren't a toy, even if the Avatar or the man in front of her wanted to believe themselves great for doing it.
She had hated the Air Nation for making a small boy fight her with paint balloons, almost like if he was a sacrifice to war, and now she faced something more twisted, a man willing to kill children without remorse.
"You are a monster" Kuvira sentenced icly as she closed the door behind her, moving the metal lock to made it close from the inside, she had to spit out to remove the bitter taste of what she had heard.
The place was falling and victory was hers, the childs free and now no one would stop her, everything would be easy, except that her body wasn't going to the outside, she was rooted in that place, enchanted by what was in front of her.
Baatar, Suyin, her men. All them..
She could recognize the smell finally, from another place and time, on an swamp that couldn't protect itself even if it made people see things, Baatar had said it was the gases of the place, it was an hallucinogen, and she was walking straight to it.
"Come with me" Bataar asked from behind her, it was just her mind. Kuvira didn't stop walking, the apparition didn't made sense because Kuvira was on the past and the person hadn't even been born, even if his voice was as warm and welcoming as in those days "Don't go"
She closed her eyes, even in her mind her boyfriend asked for her a safer future. It was what she had wanted..but..
"Why" a ghost of one of her dead soldiers asked "Why did you give up?"
Kuvira closed her eyes and forced another step, and a small hand touched her elbow, she saw Mako in there, a sad smile on his lips "Are you fine?"
It was false, a play of her head. Mako was there, alone, dying, even when Kuvira had promised him before that she would protect him, she had made an oath, and..
"You don't have to go! Come with me Kuvira!" Baatar begged from the way to the outside, to the exit and victory, and the image of Mako, the one that needed her the most vanished without a trace, leaving Kuvira with only memories of the things they have done, rescuing people, getting drunk and looking freely at the clouds.
She knew what to do, it was the hard way but she began to walk to the dungeons.
It had no sense, Mako sacrifice was necessary but her body wasn't in sincrony with her mind. He was...not someone that she could trow away as easily. He was alone, on a dark place and needed her help, she was the only one that could rescue him.
"This is stupid!" Kuvira said as she evaded a rock, going to him had no sense, it would ruin all her planes. And he had betrayed her. But, leaving him to die, it would make his ghost follow her too, weighting more than any other because he would forgive her with his sad fake smile.
He was dumb like that.
"Why go for him?"
"I'm in charge of him, if I let him die on this way, then I would have betrayed everyone hopes! You believed me in my search for building a better world! You lived and died for that dream, and I won't let your memory be tarnished by my cowardice anymore!"
"Then go" her soldiers smiled at her and bowed as always, she wanted to face them, but knew that it was not time for it.
A chunk of earth fell and she couldn't evade it on time, her left leg took the brunt. She assted the place one more time and keep walking. It was hurtful to walk, and the walls were crumbling. The place was tainted red but it would be enough for her to do it.
Mako layed on a bed of cold concrete, every muscle of his body aching and he felt overwhelmed by numbness, still he could see a door in front of him, an hour before it had been just a door of metal in the middle of the room, taking to nowhere.
But the purple colors and the buzzing sound was familiar, when harmonic convergence happened, when he was fighting near the portals of the spirit and fisical world.
It was a sort of portal, one that would free a monster that was black and had big green eyes with yellow pupils.
Mako knew his end was near, so much that he could taste in his dry mouth. He closed his eyes and wished to be knocked off instead of awake, looking at the death face, before in any life threatening situation he had never really tough about dying, always more worried about something else, but now he had enough time to acknowledge that fate.
The fate of his parents and a lot of kids on the streets, as old Lanky that liked to laugh and pat kids on their heads saying that all would be fine on "old Lanky hands". Mako feel a little bit of remorse for having forgotten about him.
Bitter memories were better as words without sound or images attached to them. His parents had been killed in front of him, that Mako knew but he had forgotten about his mother smile and his father laugh in the same way that he couldn't recall how they looked as they died. Not burning faces nor screams of agony.
He couldn't deal with any of that, his body had rejected the notion of acknowledging things that caused him pain, so it was only his delirium that brought the memory of a death teen.
But, as he stared once again to the crumbling roof he found peace, or more accurately complete numbness, die young die alone, that was simple, the end, his fate.
"Mako!" someone was screaming his name, making the ache on his head more strong. Still, he recognized the voice. She among everyone returned for him when things looked bleak, he didn't recall anyone doing that before.
"The kids!" he managed to conjure fire to burn the ropes on his hands, the monster on the door to the Spirit World was coming out as some kind of purple gas "There are kids! Go save them!"
"It's done!" Kuvira scream came out muffled but still was understandable, she began to grunt and the metal door moved a little, Mako freed himself finally and tried to run to the door, but his vision was blurry and keeping the equilibrium was impossible, so he began to craw, feeling that something was trying to grab him.
He was going to die, the place was falling, there was a demon behind him and his enemy was there to see it. He shouldn't feel any kind of hope, that was his mind was trying to warn him above the headache, because the true is that he was scared of dead and loniless, but more than that was afraid of being cast away...if only he could turn off his feelings and accept his death, loniless and the rejection he could be as before and accept his bitter end...
His hand clutched the ground and his skin was hot. Everything hurt. "I want to live"
Her hands were getting soaked with blood and the remnants of the smoke were still weighing on her mind. All that stopped mattering when the door bulged and she found Mako panting on the ground, a smoke creature loming over him.
She grabbed Mako in piggyback as fast as she could, putting her bad leg to use even if it was painful, but she couldn't hold the pacing for too long and began to limp. The place was falling and only due their small size she could pass through, the roof still was handling but it wouldn't last.
The creature following her with a slowness that made it more creepy, moaning with a lot of voices. She hated spirits, a lot.
"Let me here" Mako said out of nowhere with a small voice, she felt he heart shrink a little, because she could see his arms bruises and hear his ragged breath "It wants me. If you let me...you can make it, get away. I hate you. And you hate me, so let me here!"
"I have walked with a limp and attacked ghosts to save you" she said with a mechanical voice "You are wrong if you think I would let you here only for petty words"
She hadn't noticed how he had gripped her shoulder until he let it go.
Kuvira keep walking until reaching a closed chamber.
The place was glowing red and there was no escape anymore, she didn't knew what to do except turn around and face the enemy defiant with all she had. The spirit entered the place showing its glowing eyes for first time and still moaning with hundreds of voices.
"Thanks" Mako pushed himself off and tried to walk to the monster, Kuvira hand reached him automatically to stop him. Mako gave her a fake smile and waved off the hand "Thanks Kuvira"
The lighting blinded her for a couple of seconds and the sound of inhuman screams echoed in the chamber. The place began to fall immediately and Kuvira saw Mako injured face at the dim of the red glowing rocks. He was smiling truly this time.
There was nothing but darkness after.
.
.
.
Kuvira opened her eyes at the ligtht of the sun, she was on an open place and she could see a Bison above the blavk hair of someone. She opened her eyes more and finally realized she was hugging a very warm Mako.
"Kuvira!" Katara kneeled at their side and with glowing water began to heal Mako injuries, his small form was full of bruises and injuries, but he was alive. As she was.
"What happened?"
"Toph and Aang found you! You made a cover for you and him" the water bender was smiling softly at Kuvira but returned to heal Mako, as she should.
"I see" Kuvira closed her eyes and raised up.
"You are limping"
"Yes, I am" Kuvira shrugged off and walked to the giant bison. The Avatar was in there, his eyes were puffy "Thanks for saving us"
"Wait!" Aang bowed "I'm sorry! If I had been a better Avatar, nothing would have happened!"
"You are a child" Kuvira found herself saying, she was truly grateful for his aid, and as with Mako she had a weakness for children "You are doing the best you can"
" It isn't enough" he cried a little again "You, the world is suffering because of me"
"Aang, in the world there is suffering, you didn't cause it. I have done bad things" as killing Baatar, destroying Republic City and surrending go an Avatar that unlike Aang was a runaway that leaved when everyone needed "What happened wasn't your fault, but you still want to make everything better, you are an amazing Avatar"
She smiled and turned away to try to find Toph, she felt calm and tired, but for first time remembering what she had done wrong wasn't hurtful.
"Kuvira" Mako Incorporated himself and Kuvira walked to his side, they both asked Katara to leave "We are alive. Thanks to you. After all the things I did you still.. And I was so horrible..
The metalbender hugged Mako before he could keep talking "Yes, we are alive, I'm so happy that you are alive, stupid!"
Mako hugged her back and began to laugh "Why did you come back?"
"Because it's my duty" he smirked and Kuvira found that cute, weakness to cuteness was something she wasn't expecting of herself "Because I like you"
"I love you too Kuvira" Mako smile widened "So now what? What should we do?"
"The same we did before, in the past, or future...try to bring peace to the world. This time on the same team"
"Yes, let's save the world together!" Mako laughed a few times and went back to sleep, peaceful.
Kuvira looked at Team Avatar bickering about chores again, it was different of what she expected. But in a world in wich everything was different, time, bodies and allies she found that some things were the same, as her dislike for disorder.
This would be a nightmare, but as she glanced at Mako, she knew all would work out.
End.
Thanks for reading.