土
He couldn't help lingering a little on the dark gloom pressing in around him as he walked down the tunnel, unable to tell how far until it connected to yet another intersection of other tunnels. It all looked the same and it all brought out some bad memories.
The drip of water was ever-present along with the quiet roar of the flow beneath their feet, which intermingled with the frequent hiss of a steam pipe relieving pressure somewhere in the huge expanse of twisting tunnels.
A screech sounding like the snarl of someone running their nails down a metal surface made him look down, seeing a pair of beady eyes he could only spot by the light shining into the pure black orbs, perched above a wide mouth filled with two sharp rows of teeth that could probably devour a Ostrich-Horse in short notice or easily transmit disease to anyone unfortunate to come into contact.
Mako grimaced at the sight of the fin sitting on its back, covered in tangled mangy fur that was more than likely matted down with blood or something even more turgid.
A swarm of those things had nearly gotten Bolin one time he was lost in the sewers. He growled and pushed the old thoughts that he thought he had forgotten away, focusing on a far more urgent matter.
He growled again as he saw more and more of the same impenetrable darkness ahead, made even thicker without a naked flame to guide him or the others with. "Where are we exactly?" He hissed at Boto's back. He needed to find her, and quick.
The waterbender glanced back at him as his shoulders rose and slumped as if he sighed. "Closer to the inhabited part of the base. It makes sense that Rorik and his followers would be based as far away from any entrances underground as possible."
"I think we've been walking for hours." The waterbender hid a amused smirk as Bolin's wild estimation lifted his spirits a little, something he felt was needed whenever he encountered Rorik or the Monsoons.
"Close. We've been down here for a hour or so." He chuckled at the earthbender groan, secretly a little disturbed himself that they hadn't run into anybody at all yet, only Shark-Rats and Croc-Dogs so far, which despite the name made quite lovely household pets. "Gets a little disorienting down here. Doesn't it?"
"A little..." The earthbender trailed off and Boto frowned at the short whisper his voice had, sounding very much unlike him.
He stopped for a moment as he spotted a corner turn up ahead, glad that his sight had been tested in more than a few blizzards during his childhood. He started as he felt a few presences up ahead, almost being able to taste the texture of the... liquids within them if he could try. That thought scared him as it usually did, he gritted his teeth as he reached out towards the presences, swearing a tinge of red edged his vision as he did so.
"Ergh." He blanched as his vision went a deeper shade of crimson, and he could feel the liquids inside of a bunch of Shark-Rats ahead. "Just some more rats." He muttered at Mako and Bolin's confused faces.
They continued on from there as he shook the bad taste out of his mouth from sensing the two animals. He led them around the corner, and for a few minutes only the echoes of their feet on the wet brickwork could be heard as they retreated into their own thoughts for a bit.
The continued absence of any signs of human life got him, and he had barely noticed that the ground underneath his feet had dried a little as it started to rise up in a gradual slope. He stopped as he saw a lantern up ahead, flickering and burning away as it cast a light on the dark surroundings.
"There's a chair and a table next to it. A lookout. We're finally here."
"Good." Mako scowled as he moved past Boto and up the gradually ramping tunnel, eyes firmly directed forwards as all unnecessary thoughts and distractions left his head, leaving only a burning desire to bring her back to safety. He didn't notice the look of concern that briefly flashed on Bolin as he followed him up, and Mako almost rolled his eyes to see that he was doing that thing with his fingers again.
As a kid it was fine. But he's much older now. Still, as he looked back at his brother, seeing the tense way he kept glancing at the walls around them, or how he seemed to have shrunken down in size as if the space was pressing on him, he supposed it was natural for him to do that. "Mako." He looked up, arching a eyebrow as Boto stood in front of a turn into another tunnel, illuminated by a barely there lantern that looked about ready to fall apart. "I'm going to scout ahead for a little bit, I'll be back in five minutes."
"Wait. Why do that?" The whole point of them being here was to get Korra and Tai out of here. Nothing more. Obviously Boto had something more in mind.
"We still need to determine where the White Lotus's sword is, and if possible get it out of here and back to Yem." Mako didn't much care for the fact that he had completely forgotten about that sword, and didn't really care for anything else apart from finding her. "Even if you don't trust her, she's White Lotus." Mako grimaced and almost pulled a face at his partner's words.
He sighed and folded his arms together. "Don't get caught."
Boto turned and did that good-natured smile of his, before slipping around the corner and out of the lantern's light, and into the darkness ahead of them.
Mako leant against the nearby wall, picking a dry spot closest to the lantern as his thoughts whirled. He wasn't even sure if he could last a minute just waiting here. It was logical though and more than likely it would turn out to be more productive than just charging in and busting down every door they could find. He caught a glimpse of Bolin's downcast eyes, taking him out of those angry thoughts and into the now. "Feels weird being down here."
No answer, not that he expected one. He sighed as he folded his arms against his chest and looked at his feet, a stray thought thankful that his patrol boots were waterproofed. He shook the thought away as he noticed some movement from Bolin.
"Yeah, last time was back during - You know."
"Amon's takeover. That was messed up." He chuckled, more for his little brother's sake as thoughts about back then eventually turned to topics other than Chi Blockers and Mecha Tanks. Even if he didn't want them to, sometimes his thoughts still turned to what he could have or should have done back then, or how he should have handled things much better. If he could go back in time, he would slap his past self around for making those stupid decisions.
He didn't want to go any further into that sort of stuff, but he found the alternative wasn't so good either. "I should have seen this coming." he muttered quietly, seeing the sympathetic look coming from his brother put all of his thoughts into a tangle as he couldn't stop himself from focusing on what went wrong.
"Bro'... It's okay. Everything'll be fine." Bolin felt that his words were pretty flimsy, so it didn't surprise him to see that Mako hadn't even lifted a eyebrow or made any kind of expression. He fell quiet, stabbing the tips of his index fingers against each other as his thoughts went in random directions, making him lose his train of thought.
"I could have checked, I could have gone with her, but then I had to train him, so I-" He shook his head and laughed with a bit of bitterness. "No. It's not his fault. Just mine." He looked up at his little brother, seeing that concerned look he liked to have whenever he started to get like this.
Footsteps stopped him from beating himself up any more as Boto appeared from the darkness, almost as quiet as a whisper. Mako arched a eyebrow at the folder he held in his hands, and arched it even further at the dark look he had looking down at it. It disappeared as he looked up at him. "I know where the sword is."
But the sword wasn't even far from Mako's mind at the moment. "Did you find her?!"
Immediately Boto shook his head with a sigh. "I'm afraid not, I think I found the cell they were kept in, but all I picked up was that someone had been unconscious in there recently. Not good." He looked down at the floor as he chewed his lip. "Let's get going. I can pick up their trail near a running source of water, one of the drainage chutes should do."
The two brothers nodded as one and followed him around the corner and into the darkness of the tunnels once more. It was disorienting for Mako and Bolin as the dark pressed in around them, dulling their eyesight and forcing them to rely on smell and hearing to get by. "Y'know, you think I'd get used to these tunnels by now..." Mako smirked at the ringing wham of his brother's face slamming into a pipe, getting a angry squeak in response. "...Guess not."
He knew it was out of place for him to have something like that to laugh at, but he guessed that in a place like this he'd need it. He didn't realise he was chewing his lip as he watched his moving feet. Although the situation could get worse at any moment, he didn't have much time to work with. But he could still take a little pleasure in seeing Bolin abuse his face like that.
His chuckle was short, but worth it because of the surprised pout on Bolin.
They continued forward, following Boto as he rounded another corner into yet another tunnel. The waterbender stopped and notice a brick sticking out a scant inch above the others and bent down to investigate why its top face was painted almost completely in dried crimson paint. "Marker." he muttered as he stood back up, now able to smell the substances being carried in a nearby source of running wate. Four of them, in almost equidistant direction from where he stood. "Looks like we're smack in the middle of their base."
Bolin's eyes boggled for a moment as he nearly squeaked, thinking that a hundred pairs of ice-cold eyes stood in the very shadows around them, just waiting to take control of their bodies and... eat them? Was that what bloodbenders do? "In the middle?! But, the tunnels before... it all looks the same!" He nearly shouted the last part, but managed to clamp his mouth shut at the thought of impending death by cannibalism.
"The bricks beyond this painted one have been dried, I'm guessing they use waterbending to keep their section of the sewers free of any water that could rust their current shipment of contraband. But if you listen closely..." He kept moving forward for a few moments until something metal clanged under his feet. In the darkness, his eyes adjusted readily to the light reflecting from the water underneath the floor grating. "Clever, this is a substation for water treatment, they can access any amount of water they want whenever they choose."
"So where are they?" He screwed his eyes shut for a moment, feeling for the center of his being where the flow of chi started from. It was difficult to master or even try, but it was possible to detect the movement of liquid in all kinds of places. Katara taught him this by asking him to detect where a glacial flow had originated from, or where the entrance to a series of caverns buried under the ice and snow was situated. Of course that had the luxury of tracking the currant occupant by its footprints and tracks. Here... he had to detect the liquid inside of a person to do so. He had kept his lessons on bloodbending hidden from Korra for a reason.
keeping his eyes shut he slowly lifted a arm as he felt his vision pulse and ebb like water, and could almost taste every single molecule of liquid in their immediate vicinity. He opened his eyes and saw that his left arm was pointed almost directly to the side through a solid brick wall with a line of iron bars at the top. "Through there, there's a massive reservoir of water at the bottom, and people standing on top of it."
"I know what that is." Mako looked his partner, excitement in his eyes at how they were finally getting somewhere in this forsaken dump. "Treatment chamber. Water's fed in from several small rooms with pipes going down. She couldn't be down there though."
"No. But here's something else: A smaller source of water nearby, in a drain chute I'm guessing, its carrying some kind of scent." He flashed a smile at Mako. "Korra and Tai have already escaped."
He should have felt nothing but joy or happiness that she was out of danger. But strangely enough jealousy was in there as well. He quelled and dismissed it as a stray emotion. Nothing more. He nodded once at Boto as he caught the big massive smile on Bolin in the corner of his eye. "Good. Let's get there the-"
"We need to see what the Monsoons are up to, Mako. We can't leave just yet."
"What!" His hands shook as irrational thoughts whirled through him. What if she was hurt? What if something happened to her because he wasn't there again? But once again, the logical part of him won out. So he swallowed and nodded curtly with narrowed eyes.
"It won't take long. We'll just be observing. A minute than we can go."
He smiled apologetically before moving walking further up the tunnel towards a small alcove, gesturing for them to follow as he stopped near it and knelt down to peer through the grated hole in the wall.
Mako grumbled as he pushed past Boto, who moved aside for him to kneel down and peer through the slits of open air inbetween the grate plates. The majority of the Monsoons below all gathered in a circle around the perimeter of the room, either kneeling or standing with heads bowed towards the man with the shark-smile standing in the center of the room, definitely Rorik, who held some kind of length of gray cloth wrapped around something.
But the hooded figure next to him, the one whose face was completely hidden inside impenetrable shadow and standing completely still was a complete mystery to him. He looked as if he wasn't even standing there to begin with. Intangible was the word. But the presence of the gray leather handle protuding out from behind the hood drew his attention.
Put ten or twenty years on Tai and that could be him standing there. Even if he couldn't see them he couldn't shake the feeling that the man's eyes were focusing him. He gritted his teeth as he moved away from the grate and glanced at Boto. "They're all down there, gathered around Rorik and some hooded guy.
"Wait. A hooded guy?" His brother and Boto glanced back at him as he began pushing the tips of his fingers together again, the memory of nearly freezing during a blizzard in the Southern Water Tribe's capital coming to mind. The hooded guy that attacked them and nearly took out Tai. Was it the same person? "We ran into someone like that while we were staying in Inna during the New Moon Festival. Remember Bro?"
"Yeah. I passed out trying to find you guys." He looked at the floor for a moment, not liking what the memory was doing to his self worth. He shook his head. "In any case it looks like Rorik's holding the object that was stolen from Yem."
Boto nodded and moved towards the grate, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes and concentrated. His vision tinged red, and he felt a small buzzing inside his head as he focused on the internal liquids inside the people below.
It was disconcerting seeing a human body as a tangle of warm red lines and nerve connections. It always unnerved him horribly, but he wasn't going to stop using it just because it scared him a little, Korra was his friend first and he wouldn't lose his nerve. It was hard to concentrate on the liquids in the room below while talking. "There's a large group of people in the room below... they're all... Gathered around two figures... And..." He gasped as he felt the absence of life streaming from the human outline he could see standing in the center of the room, but unlike the one next to it, so full of life and a blood-drenched excitement, this one was cold and unfeeling. Grey.
Any further attempts at focusing on it put dark thoughts in him, and for a moment his head and heart pounded as one. "Boto, what's wrong?" He barely felt the tap as his shoulders shook terribly, and his head continued to relentlessly pound. He found he was sweating uncontrollably as he moved away from the grate.
"The hooded guy is off." He muttered as he shook his head, placing a hand on his forehead at the same time.
As Boto recovered Mako took over with looking through the grate, seeing that Rorik was starting to unwrap the grey cloth from around the Tuning Blade. As the cloth fell away from the long and slender black case he felt a little anxious as to what could be inside, all kinds of depictions going through his head as Rorik held the case high amongst his followers, possibly promising a promised day of some kind that would usher in a golden age for the new world order. Or something he felt was appropriate. He couldn't help arching his eyebrow at the small shark-toothed dagger being held for the room to see instead.
He looked away from the grate and stood up, looking at Bolin and Boto. "Well, they've definitely got a blade, but I think its shorter than expected. I don't know what good its going to do them. Can we go now?"
"Yes." Boto shook his head to ensure that everything had cleared up, and smiled as he carefully took Bolin's hand away from his shoulder. "I'm fine, Bolin. Using my abilities like that just takes it out of me."
Bolin was unsure, but nodded anyway as the two of them followed Mako down the tunnel, quickly treading over the ground they had previously covered before suddenly swinging into a new direction as he led them towards a intersection of tunnels,which held a drainage chute on the wall.
The sound of running water reached Boto's ears, but the scent of Korra and Tai didn't. "Mako, this isn't the right chute-"
Mako growled as he whipped around in the darkness, trying to find the tunnel that would take them to another when he heard the sound of footsteps and shouting coming towards them. "Urgh! No time, get in!" Without any hesitation he threw himself through the gap and into the running waters below, holding his breath just as he felt the water punch him in the stomach and head as it took him down the pipe and through dizzying turns.
A constant barrage of roaring water assaulted his ears as he tumbled without direction and without knowing time.
Soon enough he felt the direction of the torrent leveling out and the water slow just a little it carried him forwards. He could hear Bolin's gargles and swears behind him, and Boto's mutterings as well, so at least they had followed him into the chute and out of danger.
The absence of the water surprised him as his head finally broke the surface, until he realized that he was now hanging in the air. He crashed to the floor with a grunt, the breath taken out of him as he coughed and sputtered to clear his lungs. He felt raw and aching all over as he shakily stood up, swaying a little as his mind worked to recollect the required thoughts to function again.
As it did this he swore he could hear a strange hum reaching his ears, but dismissed as he focused on getting his breath back and helping Bolin to his feet. The darkness ahead was impenetrable and he could only tell that there was no wall blocking their way because of the water which rushed under their feet down the tunnel's length, presumably to a large treatment chamber.
He ran a palm down his face as the coughing subside and he shook his head. "Okay. We'll follow this tunnel, meet up with the others. From there we'll head for the-" That strange sound reached his ears again. Louder and far more vivid as he felt his head start to pound. He started forwards as he willed his battered muscles to work, ignoring the added weight his drenched clothes added on as he started to walk down the tunnel.
The sound entered his head this time, and he nearly stumbled and fell from the pounding his head started doing. "What the hell is that?!" He muttered as he stopped, looking back to seek the opinions of the others.
Bolin was slumped over, and Boto's eyes looked almost grey rather than their normal ice-blue. "Guys?"
The sound entered his head again, rising in pitch as his head began to pound. He gritted his teeth as he resisted the urge to yell and scream, holding both sides of his head as he doubled over and started to shake from the effort. Mako caught sight of a approaching hooded figure, grey eyes vividly noticeably from the darkness of the hood.
"I require you." A deep voice intoned.
Considering where he had been for the last few hours, the fire's warmth felt like paradise to him. Although it did take a lot out of him just to get a spark going. And the smell from burning the paper and rubbish inside the barrel almost felled him, which he felt was due to that enhanced sense of smell he found so useful. In most cases.
He flicked his wrist as he sat with his legs spread out and knees bent, feeling a little spark dancing on the tip of his index finger before he sent it into the heart of the fire to keep it going to stave off the cold and damp of the tunnel. He rubbed the back of his head, running his hand over what he was sure would become another roster of bruises and scratches to add to his repertoire of physical injury.
His chuckle was short but sweet. Korra would love healing him after they got home from this. He sighed as his gaze swung over to where she was now, he wasn't sure if she was just sleeping or actually unconscious, as it looked very uncomfortable for her to be sleeping on her side like that, but she was now resting easy.
He could if he wanted to, but that meant he'd have to drop his guard in case Rorik and his Monsoons showed up. Although that was unlikely as he ran his gaze over a circle shaped bulge in the wall nearby, the miniscule gap between it and the rest of the wall dripping a constant curtain of water onto the bricks under it. She earthbent the chute closed somehow, just as they were both out she managed to stay awake long enough to move the bricks and earth around in the chute.
But when he saw the golden hue her eyes had, he knew she was using the state in some kind of instinctive way. He guessed it was kind of similar to how he defaulted to airbending most of the time.
Of course, he could have been seeing things. Running on fumes tended to do things to a person. That made him chuckle for a few seconds before devolving into a coughing fit. Guess that still applied. It was just grit he was running on now.
A flicker in the flames drew his attention, he kept his gaze on it to check if it happened again. He raised his hand and stared at his palm for a moment, wondering if there was something wrong with his firebending. Maybe he needed to use it more often.
Along with the flicker was a strange barely-there hum, something that most definitely wasn't a product of his bending. He listened close, having a idea that he may have heard the sound before. But it fell silent before he could take a guess. At least the fire had stopped flickering.
"Tai? Where are we?" His eyes widened for a moment at how hoarse her voice was, but he fixed that with a small smile as he turned towards her, moving a little closer in case she need any help.
"Just outside the chute."
"But wait a moment - The Monsoons, they'll-" He grinned as he pointed at the circular bulge of earth on the wall nearby.
"You took care of that, they won't be able to come through."
She sighed, wincing a little at how hard it was to move with all her muscles protesting at once. She blanched a little at the sight of all the bruises and cuts going down her arms. But as she looked at him, and then at the fire she allowed herself a little smile. "Safe at last." she murmured.
"Heh. Took us long enough." She nodded as her fingers touched the blanket over her, she stopped for a moment as her fingers continued to explore the blanket's surface, finding a large hole on both sides on the end of a small length. This was a pretty strange blanket. It also occurred to her that Tai wasn't wearing the coat he loved so much, instead just a grey T-shirt which in no way would have kept him warm enough down here. Oh.
Korra's cheeks reddened. She had an idea why he wore it all the time as she grasped a bit of the smooth fabric in her fingertips and rubbed them back and forth, marveling at how warm the fabric became. Maybe she could ask him where he got it from?
The question balanced on the tip of her tongue as she looked at him, seeing the massive blue welt on his cheek from that rich brat's kick and the way he kept shifting his weight. He was hurt. Because of her. The inane question disappeared as she looked at the floor for a moment, knowing this wasn't the first time he put himself in danger like this. "I don't thank you enough. Do I?"
As she expected he started a bit before looking at her, probably thinking of some way to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal to him or how he could handle it. "You don't need to." What he murmured surprised her a little.
Of course she needed to! What was he thinking?! "Spirits..." She muttered, a little annoyed at how he seemed to be dismissing being held captive by bloodbenders just for her sake. She hated it when anyone did that, especially someone as reckless as him! But she couldn't let him know that. "I should have been more careful. About him." The subject of Tahno was a confusing one. He led her into a trap, and right after she gave his bending back even!... Normally he should have had that trademarked smirk of his on the entire time. But all she saw from him was...Regret.
Her vision dimmed for a moment. She shouldn't be doing this kind of thinking right now, what she needed was her bed and Naga. "It wasn't your fault. He took advantage of you." She couldn't help shuddering at the dark light shining in his grey eyes as his hands clenched and unclenched. "He's the one who should be careful."
She wasn't so sure that Tahno could be that selfish. "Yeah." She didn't quite think that he deserved to be beaten within a inch of his life though, she was sure he had his reasons. And she would resolve to find out why as soon as she got out of here. Her vision dimmed again and she gritted her teeth, holding a hand to her forehead as her sense of balance shifted terribly for a second, making it feel like she was falling when she was sitting still. "Tai." He looked straight at her as she reached a hand to her hip, hoping to Yue that her flask was still there.
As her fingers closed around the rough sealskin that kept the container both watertight and airtight she sighed with relief. She didn't want to lose Katara's gift to her down here. Her fingers scrabbled for the length of string holding it on her pants. They found the knot, and even though she currently had the dexterity of a ice block she managed to undo the knot, although she failed to grab the flask before it slipped away from her grasp.
Tai flicked his wrist and curled his fingers as he stood up, making up a small stream of suction through the air between him and the falling flask. It spun around in the air as it flew into his grasp, he bent down as he shook it to gauge what was inside. Barely a drop. He frowned as Korra swayed a little and continued to grit her teeth, he spotted a small canal running along the edge of the wall nearby and quickly moved to it.
A metal grate covered the canal full of running water but that was no obstacle to him as he whipped up a air sphere in the palm of his free hand. One twisted square of metal hitting the wall later and he had full access to the water. Wasting no time he dipped the flask in, holding it under for a few seconds to fill it up to the brim.
He moved back to Korra, sitting down in front of her and offering the flask. She shook her head. "You hold it. I can get the water." She probably didn't know this about him, but as he couldn't help the fascination at watching a ribbon of water slowly spiral its way through the air, free of the container as Korra slowly moved her fingers in gentle arcing movements. He thought it was pointless to tell her since it was just some weird fascination of his.
Korra formed the ribbon around itself, wrapping it around and around until it resembled a rough ball-shaped blob. She sighed as the water pulsed and glowed brilliantly for a second before dying down to a dimmer but no less radiant brightness. As she pressed the blob of water to her forehead, instantly her mind felt much clearer and less murky. "Thanks." She smirked at the airbender, who nodded and smiled in return.
"No problem." He fell quiet, and she joined him in a comfortable silence as she ran the ball over her face, slowly shrinking the bruises and cuts to more manageable sizes and shapes. "So how come you're so good at healing?"
She laughed for a few seconds, and for a moment she almost laughed louder at the shocked look on him. "Katara got tired of fixing my scrapes and bruises for me, so she decided it was best that I learn to do it myself." She shrugged, feeling a little ache as she lifted her shoulder but ignoring it. "Besides. I thought that since Mom knew how to heal, I thought that I should as well." Korra tilted her head at her friend's curious expression, wondering what he was thinking.
"Well... I guess you need some way to tone down the manliness." He sniggered as her jaw started to hang, and she raised her fist to slam him one in the shoulder.
"I- That is so sexist!" Her fist flew into his shoulder, doing nothing more than knocking dust from his shirt sleeve as he continued to laugh.
"Wow! I didn't know you knew that word!" His laugh echoed off the walls of the tunnel, joining the flicker of the flames nearby. Incredibly she started to laugh as well.
"Hey Tai. Take off your shirt." The wicked gleam in her eyes freaked him out a little, and he gulped as he looked at her.
This was gonna hurt.
"Why have I gotta carry you?" He grumbled, rolling his shoulders underneath Korra's weight as he walked down the dark and damp tunnel, another in a dizzying number he was sure had reached above a hundred now.
"Because I healed you. Because you called me manly. And because you are a little more healthier than I am right now. Now faster!" She chuckled at his groan, although her head still continued to pound courtesy of the energy she used in healing him. That was probably the biggest factor in how exhausted she now was.
The constant sound of water dripping from the ceiling onto the tunnel floor got to her as well, lulling her thoughts and not helping in keeping her alert in case they ran into any trouble ahead. She hit upon a idea. "Hey, I don't think I've ever asked: how come you can bend fire and air?"
"Couldn't think of a better question than that?" He sighed as he shifted her weight around a little. "I already told you: Mom was a airbender and Dad was a firebender. I'm their kid so logically..." He arched a eyebrow at her curious expression. "Okay. Mom told me it was simply genetics or something scientific like that. Well to be more accurate, the ability to bend skipped him completely and went over to me." He shrugged. "Got no clue why.
"I think I was looking for a better explanation than that." She admitted, she had always been a little curious as to why he could do both airbending and firebending. Tai's mention of his mother brought up a thought. She could ask her. Her thoughts slowed to a crawl as she felt her head spin and her eyes flutter. "Okay, tell me something else."
"Like what?" He looked over his shoulder at her, following the purer streams of air flowing in the middle of the tunnel using his nose.
"Well... I don't know." She felt her eyes flutter again, and she struggled to keep them open and her mind alert.
He put his mind to work, thinking up something that she may find interesting to keep her awake. He felt a little unsure about saying it to her though. "Okay... I don't think I've ever talked about Telei."
"Your old master?"
"Yeah. After what happened to my village-" He paused to make sure he was truly ready of saying this out loud. It may have happened years ago but it still weighed on him so much. "I met a old man on the road. At the time I was cold and hungry, and I just wanted the loaf bread he carried in his arms. Incredibly he just gave it to me... just like that, I didn't know what to say or even do, but I knew that he was my ticket to staying alive and moving forward." He paused again, the memories of those dark and dreary days threatening to overwhelm him and stop him cold. But he soldiered on, determined to make sure she would be awake when they got to the others. "He took me in when I showed him I could airbend and what I could do with my sword. Three years I spent with him, learning how to make a tornado, how to whip up the wind, how to stay fast and silent. He taught it all to me. Among other things."
"I think I see Tenzin." Korra murmured as her chin dropped onto his shoulder. He stopped for a moment, trying to peer past the bright light and into whatever lay beyond it.
The room ahead was large, huge even, enough to house several airships at once with room to spare between them. It also looked familiar to him as he moved closer, shifting her weight on him again as he felt a old ache in his ankle surface, trying to slow him down. He wouldn't let it though, he continued forward and ignored the rising pain in his foot as the tunnel widened out into the massive open space, with a large gap showing the night sky up above.
"Gommu's hobo-city." He muttered. He shook his head as he spotted a group of armored people ahead, all looking at him with a orange robed bald figure calmly walking towards them, a warm smile and a look of concern in his eyes. "And Teacher." he added, moving forwards as fast as he could without losing his balance or letting Korra slip from his back.
He stopped in front of Tenzin, a smile on his lips as he lifted his arm up made a fist with his hand. He extended his thumb straight up as he spotted Asami moving closer as well, a look of concern on her. He didn't think it was necessary, they were safe now. "Got her."
Tenzin didn't say anything, but moved forward around to his side, reaching a hand to Korra's shoulder. "Korra." He spoke quietly, just loud enough to rouse her as she opened her eyes.
"Tenzin..." She whispered as Tai slowly knelt down so the bottoms of her boots could touch the ground. She swayed a little and nearly lost her balance as she tried to step away from his back, her arms flailed before she managed to grip Tai's shoulders again to steady herself, ready for attempt two.
Tai heard footstep behind him, and as Korra managed to step away from his back and stand on her own power before being supported by both Tenzin and Asami, he heard Mako's voice close behind him. "Thanks for that, Tai."
He turned, rubbing the back of his head as he fought the urge to arch his eyebrow at how quietly Mako managed to approach him, from behind and in such a open space like this. "Good to see you're not injured." He nodded, a little suspicious of the way his eyes failed to catch that usual fiery glint he had. A dark whisper spoke in his thoughts and a chill swept across his back. He turned, coming face to face with a hooded figure, eyes hidden within the depths of the hood.
That's-
The airbender whipped around to face Mako again, questions forming as something of immense pressure and strength pushed into his chest. His eyes boggled as the fireball being shoved into his chest lost stability, and the flames sent him tumbling back, away from Korra, away from Tenzin as pain and confusion wracked his body.
What the hell was wrong with him?! The question had to wait as he came to a halt, managing to snake his sword out of its scabbard, stabbing it into the metal floor to support him as he stood up. It hurt for him to breath as he stared at the firebender, now collapsed on the floor and hardly breathing. But the hooded figure now faced him, sword drawn as he slowly approached.
He went to sprint forwards when a flurry of cables whooshed overhead and speared towards the hooded man, who stopped and looked up slightly, tilting his head as if questioning their approach.
As Tai's head spun and question continued to whirl he heard Lin shouting some kind of cry as her shadow covered him and the tip of a wideset blade on her arm gleamed, pointed straight at the unmoving figure in front of him.
Even as the storm of wires flew closer and closer, and Lin Beifong dropped towards him with her armblade outstretched he still didn't move a muscle.
It was only when the very air itself vibrated around him and when Tai felt the breath being taken away from him for a moment did he actually move. And he knew as soon as the hooded figure did, that it was him.
Lin's battlecry changed into a surprised grunt as a fist slammed into her stomach, so strong that she could feel the full brunt of it in her ribs. She gasped for air as she stared with widened eyes at the hooded figure, who almost seemed to shrug as he whipped around her and planted his boot in her back, getting a rare unadulterated scream out of her as she tumbled with the speed of a missile towards the ground, nearly slamming into it at a bone-breaking speed when a orange robed figure crashed into her and held on, splaying out a palm and slowing his fall towards the ground.
The hooded figure flicked his wrist, and the three wires closest to him whipped around and fishtailed immediately, spearing themselves towards the ground and burying in deep, with the other wires following suit. The hooded figure touched down on the ground, and turned to look at him.
Tai gritted his teeth as questions continued to hound him, shakily holding his blade out in front as a barrier between him and the powerful figure, who just effortlessly wiped the floor with the greatest metalbender in the world and her officers. He kept his eyes glued to the front, focusing on nothing but the hooded figure, remembering his mother's lessons as he recognised the telltale signs of a duel.
It was hard remembering that far back, but it was all about the footwork and coordination. He focused on where his feet where, only to realise his mistake as the hooded figure closed in on him in the blink of a eye, the tip of the blade in his hands about pierce Tai's stomach.
He was too slow.
But Tenzin wasn't, from his position nearby he held his hands up and put them together, forming a ball of air that spun faster than any natural tornado or typhoon. He splayed his palm and shunted all of the air forwards, resulting in a gale force stream that slammed into the hooded figure and sent him tumbling, the sword nearly being torn from his grasp. With the closest danger now gone he rushed to his student's side, seeing that he was rooted to the spot, with his skin the same color as his eyes.
He watched his surroundings like a hawk for the hooded figure, but couldn't see any movement. The entire space was dead quiet, apart from the pained gasps of Lin and her officers, he glanced down at her to check that she was fine before looking back up to continue scanning the massive space for a sign of his presence.
A whisper of air tickled the lobe of his ear. His eyes narrowed as he turned, trialing his arms in flowing movements in preparation at what would surely be the hooded figure bearing down on them.
But a different sight met his eyes.
Korra's alarmed gasp drew his attention to the firebender currently being held up by the hooded man, the naked curve of a blade catching the light from above as it pressed into Makos neck, with just enough pressure to get a few drops of blood out. He glanced behind himself and saw that Tai was still rooted to the spot, his skin pale and eyes wide with fear, and his sword now completely abandoned and left lying on the ground.
He heard the slightest whisper in his mind. Tenzin, It has been a long time.
Tenzin gritted his teeth as he stared into the dark depths of the hood, seeing the barest hints of grey that burned with hidden anger and arrogance.
The hood shook a little as the man tilted his head, still keeping a close grip on the blade as he saw the petrified boy behind Tenzin's shoulder. My student, still weak as ever.
His eyes were like a hawk's as they landed on Korra and the pale girl supporting her. Tenzin could sense a amused smile forming within the dark depths of the hood. The entire room was silent except for the muffled thud of far off machinery, the air thick with tension as he waited, wishing he knew how to predict what would happen next.
The hooded man was still the same, silent and still with the blade still held to Mako's neck and his attention still directed at the young Avatar who fought to keep herself even barely conscious. She gritted her teeth as desperation welled within her at the realisation she had no idea what to do.
The entire room was silent and still for a second until the very air itself vibrated with unrestrained raw rage. "YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!" A wave of overpressure slammed into Lin and the officers next to her, sending them tumbling as a missile of spinning wind, tipped by the point of a outstretched blade shot straight towards the hooded man.
He stood there, still calm and still holding the blade to Mako as he lifted his free arm slowly and purposefully. The boy contained inside the spinning tunnel of wind roared with fury, grey eyes almost ablaze as he and his sword reached within a hairsbreadth of the hooded man and Mako.
And then his passage was halted, with a flick of his wrist the wind around Tai collapsed completely as the air rushed out of his lungs and his throat began to constrict. He gurgled and gasped as he floated in the air, writhing in agony as numbness spread across his muscles and into his thoughts.
He was too slow.
"NO!" In Tai's dimming vision he saw the grey eyes inside the hood absolutely light up like this was what he wanted. As his body twisted around he caught a view of Korra, her fatigue gone, replaced by a golden fury in her eyes as she walked forwards, a maelstrom of fire and water encasing her and her fury.
A flash of light blinded everyone in the room, leaving the Metalbenders in a daze as a few of them collapsed to the floor. Tenzin felt wind blowing across his face, and a few moments later, as everything fell silent and the room was calm he opened his eyes, seeing both Mako and Tai collapsed on the floor.
After a minute of keeping his eyes searching he stopped and released the breath he held, glancing behind his shoulder to see Asami white-faced after seeing Korra's power, with a look of something approaching fear on her at the Water Tribe gal now unconscious in her arms. Far behind all of this Bolin and Boto limped into the massive space from a dark tunnel nearby.
In the instant the Korra had unleashed her fury and grief, Tenzin heard one sound coming from the hooded man. A pleased chuckle.
土