Chapter 12: 'Conflict Resolution'
Author Notes:
Well this was quick. Not as long as the last two, but they were super long. Still plenty happens in this chapter and some nostalgia thrown in for good measure. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read and review as always, much love and respect.
"Korra?"
"Korra!"
The Avatar threw her head forward from the chair she had been sitting on as Mako's hushed voice rattled in her skull. The meeting with representatives from the multiple regions of the Earth Kingdom had gone on for several hours now without a break. At the beginning Korra really had tried to stay focused and seem engaged, looking uninterested in the fate of this nation whilst surrounded by those who were most invested in its future would have been detrimental to her 'Avatar Reputation'. And that can't really afford to be any lower than it already is.
The water-tribe girl certainly wasn't uninterested in what would happen here, after all it was her lack of action and failures which had brought the Kingdom into turmoil, now totally leaderless. It was when Korra began to doubt herself like this that she missed Asami's presence the most. If the engineer was here right now she would no doubt berate the Avatar on how ridiculous she was being. "The world does need you Korra, and all you've ever done is your absolute best. No one could ask for anymore, be proud of all the good you've done. I know I am." Then the CEO would give her a hug that could light up even the darkest of nights, it definitely had in the past.
As Korra gazed around the room of old-men who were heads of a variety of villages and towns she remembered why she had zoned out. The Earth Kingdom was still politically backwards in many regards, especially in it's representation of women. The Earth Queen had done nothing to change things in her years on the throne, too consumed by her pursuit of decadence and power to see beyond the first wall of Ba Sing Se. Kuvira could of been the catalyst to some kind of matriarchal upheaval but she to was blinded by her desire to reunite the Earth Kingdom fully as a conqueror rather than help her people in the end.
Thoughts of Asami were also driving Korra to distraction. They'd only been apart for three days and 12 hours, 5 minutes but the Avatar found herself missing her girlfriend desperately and wondering how the hell she'd survived them being separated for three years. Nightly phone calls were no where near enough to fill the void and those precious few minutes when Korra simply lost herself in the engineer's voice were often marred by interference in the lines. That would drive the water-tribe girl insane, only calmed down by the person on the other ends incredibly soothing tone.
"You were miles away" Mako whispered as the meeting continued. The halls of Ba Sing Se were much larger than that in Republic City which allowed a considerably larger number of government officials to take part. That was definitely a good thing, Korra was just one among dozens of others so was largely being ignored bar the few people who did recognize her.
"I wish I was" the Avatar complained quietly as her eyes met with those of Suyin Beifong, here representing Zaofu. The pleasant older woman gave Korra a strained smile. Clearly the day was wearing Su down just as much if not more.
"Don't worry, we'll be heading off for a break soon" Mako assured as he watched Prince Wu continue to officiate proceedings, uncharacteristically not show boating and being calm and level-headed instead. His neck must have been sore from nodding understandably at all of the suggestions voice by different village leaders even when what they were saying was bizarre and made no sense.
"And now to the trial of Kuvira" Wu began, immediately gaining the attention of the entire room including Korra who leaned forward in her chair. She felt responsible for the Earth Empire leader in some ways. Their heart to heart in the spirit world had allowed the Avatar to understand Kuvira's motivations, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She was on the same path as me all those years ago, but lost herself along the way. It would have happened to me too if I didn't have people to pull me back from the edge.
"It will be taking place in the palace of Ba Sing Se, beginning at 10:00am tomorrow, hopefully being adjourned for the day around 3:00pm. I understand that many of you will want to attend the trial yourself having been personally effected by Kuvira's actions or to actually give evidence. As a result I propose we postpone the conference until late afternoon. Of course this will lead to a longer day, but I think we can all agree it would be best not to delay our work any longer than necessary. We must make compromises here and there" Wu concluded.
The room of the representatives nodded in unison. How many of them are actually going because they care about what happens and how many just want to see a public spectacle? As much as Korra wanted to be at Kuvira's trial herself she couldn't help but think that this may effect getting a chance to call Asami in the evening with the time difference between Ba Sing Se and Republic City. I'm going to have to stay up insanely late to try and catch Asami after her work.
"Thank you for being so patient today. Please take an hours lunch break" Prince Wu called from the front of the room, barely getting anytime to finish his sentence as the delegates launched themselves from their chairs and charged to the doors. There old age didn't seem to effect their mobility one bit when it came to the promise of food.
"A lunch break? It's 4.00pm. That's really not lunch, that's just cruel" the water-tribe girl complained as she felt her belly rumble loudly. Mako's distinctive eyebrows furrowed dramatically.
"I don't think you understand the definition of lunch Korra, not after the bill I got from Takashi's last week. Did you even eat those seven portions of shark-squid you ordered?" Mako complained as they shuffled towards the door slowly. No, I threw some of it at Asami. And we may or may not have had a food fight which she totally didn't win.
"Of course I did. Do you not remember how much food I can eat Mako?" Korra lied as they stepped into the hallway, realizing they were almost completely alone since most of the earth delegates had ran away.
"That's true. Dating you wasn't cheap. It's a good thing Asami's got bags of money" the young detective laughed as they strode side by side, scooting around two young women in their early twenties in basic Earth Kingdom garb.
"It's a small cost for having me, the master of all four elements, as your girlfriend" Korra smiled, motioning through her different elemental poses as they walked. Do I really cost too much? Being the Avatar doesn't exactly pay.
"Speaking of lunch, where do you want to go out of all the cuisine that the great city of Ba Sing Se has to offer?" Mako joked, sounding a little bit like his younger brother in a mover.
"How about Iroh's tea shop? I know it still exists even though I doubt the tea will taste anywhere near as good" Korra suggested, having the strangest need to retrace her old Avatar roots, a reminder of where she came from and who she was.
"Alright. Do you know how to get there?" Mako agreed, glancing briefly to the pair still walking behind them.
"I have a feeling I'll know the way" Korra replied confidently.
"Whatever you say, just don't get us lost. And you are buying by the way" Mako laughed as they finally reached the outside of the palace and the hot Ba Sing Se sunshine.
The city was much less dilapidated that Korra remembered from the last time she was here. The walls which had separated the districts and the different classes were gone with free movement between those of different wealth and social standing. The Avatar couldn't help but notice that there still wasn't much interaction between them despite the lack of physical barriers. The ancient city still had a long way to go it seemed. After 100's of years of separation it would take sometime before they began to assimilate and live together.
They turned a corner into a particular run down street and Korra felt her heart sink. She'd found Iroh's tea shop but it was not at all what she had expected. It was still open but was in complete disrepair with paint peeling away from the walls and rotten wood. The sign itself looked like it hadn't even been repainted since Aang and Katara had been here, the writing barely legible. The Avatar wondered what the old general would have thought of his pride and joy being in such a terrible state. He'd no doubt have some metaphor of how it reflects life and death or something.
"It doesn't look so good...do you still want to go inside?" Mako inquired nervously. It was quite likely that he and Bolin had eaten in far worse places in their younger years in Republic City when they had struggled just to keep their heads above water.
"Yeh. I feel like I have to. It's like a Team Avatar shrine, every member of the team should come here to boost their 'avatarness'" Korra decided as she rambled, taking a step inside.
"Alright. Lets just see how much this tea makes me feel 'avatary'" Mako resolved as he followed close behind, taking a seat as the table in front of him rattled on its old legs.
The place was completely empty with the exception of a rather downtrodden looking man behind the counter at the back of the room, presumably the owner. The place must have been on the brink of bankruptcy. If I brought Asami here I bet she could turn its fortunes around in a week.It was such a shame that a place which Korra had visualized would be so wonderful and homely was in such a shambolic state. Would places she and the new Team Avatar had frequented become a ruin like this? Just a rusty old memory...
"Two of General Iroh's special teas please" the water-tribe girl called to the owner as she cautiously took her seat, fearful that it may collapse as soon as she made contact with it such was it's unsteady appearance. Everything she had done with Team Avatar could of became just a rusty old memory for Korra if she hadn't recovered in the Southern Water tribe, if she had never returned for Republic City, to Asami. How different a path her life could have taken, trapped in a cold palace for the rest of her existence.
The owner didn't even respond to Korra verbally, instead shuffling away and boiling some water. "It's no wonder this place is in such a bad way with a moody guy like that in charge" the Avatar complained.
"Yeh. People like that shouldn't be running places like this," Mako agreed as he stretched his arms.
A few moments later the owner trundled over, practically throwing the cups of tea on the table without a word and stomping away again back to the counter. Korra eyed up her cup uneasily. It was dirty inside, like the cup hadn't been cleaned in weeks.
"There's no way I'm drinking that," the water-tribe girl grimaced as she pushed her cup aside. "It looks like muddy water."
"Agreed, tea should be served with some soul," Mako squirmed as he shoved his slowly aside with a single finger. "The last thing we need is to get some kind of stomach infection."
"Alright, lets get out of here and go somewhere else for lunch whilst we still have some time," Korra replied as she rifled around in her green backpack for some money. Asami had given her some yuans for the trip since being the Avatar didn't pay anything. The engineer had practically forced the money on her girlfriend, warning her that she better eat properly whilst she was away or else. Saying "Or else what?" seemed like a bad idea at the time but it worked out pretty well. A light tap of the shoulder proceeded by a crazy 'make-out session' courtesy of Future Industries.
Korra tossed the coins onto the table lightly. "Where exactly did you get that money Korra? I know you aren't loaded," Mako asked suspiciously as he collected the yuans slowly.
"Yeh, but my girlfriend is. It's smooth living from here on out," Korra joked as she stretched her toned arms behind her head.
"Smooth living out of the pocket of 'Mummy Sami'," Mako teased as he walked towards the counter, nearly falling over as the Avatar sent a current of air at the young man's legs as punishment for his comment. He raised his hands in surrender before passing the yuans to the shop owner. The depressed looking man grunted before wrenching the coins from the young detectives hand and stomping away into the kitchen at the back of the room.
Korra pulled herself up from the chair slowly, striding towards the door when she spotted a pair of women standing in the door frame. The same ones they had seen earlier in the palace. Both ladies looked rather surprised as they stepped inside although for what reason the Avatar didn't know. What was the possibility they had ended up at the same eatery in such a huge city? Not a lot. They must of followed us!
"Mako!" Korra shouted as she changed into a defensive stance and eyed the two suspiciously. It would be wise not to start a street battle here unless I don't have a choice.
The two became immediately hostile at that launching a large chunk of the front wall directly at Korra. Earth Benders! the Avatar confirmed as she swiftly dodged the huge piece of earth, feeling the heat of a flame fly over her head as Mako joined the fight. Suddenly the roof of the shop was collapsing as it's structure had been damaged by their attackers. The water-tribe girl just managed to prevent the rocks from crushing herself and Mako, holding the entire weight of the building in mid air and feeling herself straining from the effort. The shop's owner had been too far at the back of the building for Korra to be able to save him.
The Avatar threw the remaining rubble above her and tossed it aside, searching for their assailants. The dust that came from the crumbling building made it impossible to see and difficult to inhale oxygen. Korra bent a ball of air around herself and Mako to help them breath as she tried to clear the mirk in the air surrounding them.
Just as she had nearly cleared the air entirely Korra felt a piece of sharp metal fly towards her, only just managing to move out of the way as it grazed her shoulder. Blood immediately began to stream from the deep cut as the Avatar gasped in pain, though the injury hadn't prevented her for maintaining the bubble of air as she continued to bend it with just one hand.
"Korra are you alright!" Mako called in concern as he searched for their enemies, bending several balls of fire forward at random to try and flush them out of the dust.
"I'm fine!" the Avatar called as she gritted her teeth, running outside from the remains of the building determinedly.
Korra looked around frantically, frustrated that their attackers had disappeared entirely. The street was empty with the ruins of Iroh's tea shop behind them. A rusted ruin. The Avatar kept a firm grip of the wound on her shoulder to try and slow the bleeding until she got a chance to properly heal it. I should have kept my guard up.
"We have to find them!" the Avatar shouted angrily.
"Korra look at this" Mako called as he stared at something scratched onto a wall in front of them with a shard of metal.
"All hail the great uniter...I thought I was done with this sort of stuff" Korra moaned as she watched the young detective exam in closely.
"These people weren't under Kuvira's orders, this attack was chaotic and not very well-planned. They just had the good fortune of the building collapsing on us saving their asses" Mako suggested.
"They followed us from the palace, I think they hoped they would catch us out in a busy restaurant and sneak up on us unnoticed. A surprise attack. Ba Sing Se is normally bustling everywhere you go, so that sort of attack is relatively easy to carry out" he continued.
"So coming to a quiet place like Iroh's tea shop ruined their plans?" Korra questioned, looking at the remains of the building. Mako nodded "Going here probably saved our lives."
I really did go there for a reason. Thanks for keeping an eye on me Uncle Iroh.
"It didn't save the owner though..." Korra sighed as she looked at the ruins of the building. I should have done better.
"You did all you could" Mako assured, placing a hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, we better go report this to the city's police and Prince Wu. That arm wound looks nasty, we'll get that all fixed up to."
Asami fiddled with the shock glove on her desk, finally finished with work for the day. Bolin sat on the soft couch at the corner of her office, Pabu sleeping soundly on his chest. The young earth bender had appeared a few hours earlier for a game of Pai-Sho. That had raised the engineers suspicions immediately. Bolin couldn't play Pai-Sho very well, Asami would beat him every time. No, he was here for another reason despite what the younger man had said, she just couldn't figure out what at this moment in time.
Asami had indulged Bolin's act, not wanting to upset him in anyway, especially if she was actually wrong. Also any chance to have a game of Pai-Sho was a good thing since Korra down right refused to play it because it was a 'non-starter' and her father was...gone... The only other person was Uncle Iroh in the spirit world, he wasn't exactly easy to get in contact with, now above all other times. The spirit portal as of this moment was surrounded by members of the Anti-Spirit party and what looked to be some of its militia that Yon Rha refused to acknowledge was at all associated with his party. Haruana's out there somewhere, plotting some kind of vengeance.
Asami had been planning to upgrade her shock glove again for some time, and her confrontation with the aggressive deputy's lightning a few days earlier had given her some ideas. What if her glove didn't just send electricity at people? What if it was able to re-direct an opponents lightning and send it right back at them just the way Lord Zuko and others could? This would give her a little more of an equal platform against benders like Haruana. The design was still in it's preliminary stages, still struggling to find a way to harness the raw power of lightning without frying the gloves circuits entirely. A benders lightning was much stronger and organic than that produced by any man made machine.
"I think I'm going to call it a night" Bolin yawned as he climbed up from the sofa, Pabu running up onto his shoulder.
"Alright Bolin, thanks for coming over. I really appreciate the company" Asami replied warmly. His presence really had helped to distract her from Korra's absence so that the pain wasn't quite so raw. The engineer couldn't help but wonder how much better she may have felt if Bolin had stayed in Republic City during the Avatar's absence instead of going off with Kuvira. There's no point on dwelling on it now. If anything that period made you fall in love with Korra even more, realize just how much she meant to you, and it probably did the same thing for Korra.
"No problem, I'm here anytime you need me," Bolin smiled, hugging Asami from behind her chair. "You make sure to go to sleep Missy," he warned softly as he stepped through the door frame.
"I will soon, I swear. I'm just going to give Korra a quick call before bed," Asami promised as she put the shock-glove schematics back into a drawer. I'll get that done soon enough.
"Alright Asami, give her a big hello from Uncle Bo-Bo and Mr Pabu, good night" Bolin smiled as he closed the door slowly.
"Goodnight Bolin, and thanks again" Asami laughed as she locked the door behind him, resolving to just sleep on the sofa in her office tonight so she could return to work as soon as she woke up.
She took a seat at the desk, pulling the phone from the wall and dialing the number to Korra's room in palace of Ba Sing Se. The engineer glanced briefly at the new water-tribe blue glider she was also working on as a gift to Korra as she heard the noise of the lines being connected, feeling her heart flutter strongly as she waited for someone to pick up on the other side. How can one person who isn't even physically here make me feel this way?
"Hello?" a familiar voice echoed on the other end of the phone.
"Hello dork" Asami responded, trying to sound as cool as possible even though her heart was racing just at the simple sound of the Avatar's friendly voice.
"Hey Asami, how has your day been?" Korra asked. Weird...normally she'd have a go at me for calling her dork.
"Eventful would be the correct word. I've really made progress with the reconstruction. All of the buildings in downtown have now been structurally assessed. Sadly most of them are beyond saving, but hey, progress is progress" Asami began, unable to contain her pride that she had managed to get the survey done under the deadline. A deadline which had seemed achievable when she had first set it.
"That's great news, the city will practically be done and dusted by the time I get back!" Korra laughed.
"Not likely, I'm good, but not that good" Asami smirked, twisting the cord of the phone around her finger unconsciously.
"Oh believe me your good" Korra breathed down the phone making Asami's face turn bright red. "What's the stupid Anti-Spirit Party up to now anyway?" the Avatar asked, a hint of concern in her voice. She's much more worried about it than she shows. Or is she worried about me?
"Not much since you went away, I saw some idiots attacking a vine earlier. Bolin and I were going to intervene but the vine got to them before we did, I dropped them off at the hospital afterwards" Asami explained. She had been certain those people hadn't been members of the party, but where just supporters, or just idiots.
"Shouldn't mess with the spirits then" Korra laughed, "And trust you to take them to hospital afterwards. You are too caring for your own good."
"Is that a problem?" Asami asked confused.
"Oh no! As long as I get the most of that care, it's one of the things I love about you Asami" Korra grinned from the end of the phone. You'll always be the one I care about the most.
"Don't worry about that. All Asami care is going directly to Avatar Korra for the rest of my existence" Asami smiled.
"I'm suppose to say I care about the whole world, but you'll always have top spot, lets hope the press never hear that! Bolin was with you today?" Korra asked, suddenly sounding much more serious. Does she have a problem with that?
"Yeh, he came over and we played Pai-Sho and just talked really" Asami explained, wondering if she had done something wrong.
"That sounds great. I'm glad Bolin is hanging out with you" Korra said quickly, almost sounding relieved about the whole thing.
"Korra, is everything okay?" Asami asked in concern. The Avatar took much longer to respond than usual.
"Everything's fine. We're making progress with the conference every day, and Kuvira's trial starts tomorrow." That's why she's sounding so shady.
"Are you going to go?" Asami asked, unsure what the Avatar would want to do. She didn't really know Korra's position on the former Earth Empire leader, neither of them really liked to talk about her for obvious reasons.
"I was going to, but only if you're okay with it" Korra said anxiously. My opinions of Kuvira shouldn't effect what Korra does. I'm not in charge of her and I know she'll do what ever feels right.
"It's fine Korra, go ahead. I understand that you feel responsible for Kuvira after saving her, and you want to make sure she gets a fair trial" Asami said warmly.
"Thanks so much" Korra breathed in relief. Was she really so nervous about what I would say? "I think it's time you headed to bed anyway Miss Sato, you need your beauty sleep." Sleep sounded like a lovely idea.
"That's a great idea, and you should to. A sleepy Avatar is a totally useless Avatar" Asami joked as she leaned back in the chair, letting out a large yawn.
"Agreed" Korra replied, sounding deadly serious again. What did I say? The engineer desperately wished she could read the Avatar's expression, then she might of been able to figure out if something was troubling her.
"Good night Asami, love you" Korra said with some considerable emotional weight.
"Love you to Korra, sweet dreams" Asami finished, putting extra emphasis on 'sweet dreams'. The Avatar having a night terror without the CEO there to comfort her was a painful thought.
Asami placed the phone down slowly then stared up at the ceiling wishing their conversations didn't have to be so short and that humans didn't require sleep. So much more would get done without it.
Until the next time my dear dork.
End notes:
And the tension keeps building. No, I don't intend to rehash Kuvira's supporters as the new villain, I kinda wanted to trick you guys because I bet you were all thinking 'anti spirit peeps' but no. You were wrong. And also I doubt all her supports would just disappear, I always found it really weird how the equalist movement died out entirely after S1, so I'm fixing that here.
Anyways thoughts and things would be nice. Next up is the beginning of Kuvira's trial, some not so fun times for Asami and Haruana and yet more Earth Kingdomy meetings. Huzzah.
