AN: Not my best chapter… meh sorry for the late post :/

P.S: But eyyy… I'm aiming for seven one shots for my "christmas drop." I'll probably start posting on christmas eve or the day of. Eh we'll see depending what I got by then, I shrug.

Ch 14: Human or Beast

It was that same dream again.

Her father kidnapped and gave children venomous drugs. But she was helpless. She could only yell out to him. To them. Again and again. Falling down. Getting up. Running after them. Korra. Asami found herself drowning in quicksand of… tar. It was oozing with this foul stench of, of chemicals, rotting flesh and even blood. She was helpless. She could only aimlessly reach out for her girlfriend but she couldn't breath. She watched as Korra faded from her vision of sight and screamed one last time.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Jumping upright, Asami was panting like crazy before feeling resistance on her body. Panicking she looked down to see herself in a hospital gown. Hospital? Fear immediately overcame her body and she was shaking uncontrollably.

"N-NO NOO NOOO! AAAAAAHHH!"

Pulling her legs up to her chest, she rocked back and forth trying to escape her nightmares.

"NOOOO AAAAHH DON'T! I-I I'M SO SORRY! AAAHH I'M SORRY I'M SOR-"

"_-mi… Asa-mi… ASAMI!" Slapping her cheek with a hard smack, Asami froze with tears streaming down her face.

Looking back and forth at his brother and friend, "A-Asami h-hey… what's wrong? You alright? Do you know who I am?"

She opened her mouth repeatedly trying to speak before trying to calm down. "B-Bo… B-Bolin? W-Where am I?" Gripping her body tightly with fear.

"You're in a hospital Asami… Bolin and I started becoming more worried since you haven't been responding to our calls or texts… it's been four weeks since we've heard anything from you and when we finally visited you, you had fainted… what happened Asami?" Mako says with a gloom expression on his face.

"I-..." looking at her trembling hand, she made a fist trying to stabilize it, "I… I… she was right… my… my father was a monster…" her eyes quickly watered up as the two brothers tried comforting her.

"Hey you don't have to tell us… Asami we… well, we've confirmed that your dad was indeed conducting illegal drug experiments with children… but-but don't worry! They're alright! Nothing seems to be wrong with them so they'll be fine…" Bolin tries to reaffirm.

"N-No… y-you don't understand, he… he did so so so many horrible things and-and I-"

Shushing her while pulling his friend into a tight hug, "Don't worry… it's all just a dream okay? Your father only did research on drugs, well specifically stronger steroids… and that's it. He kidnapped children and used them as guinea pigs but that's all… none of them were severely hurt. We stopped him…"

Pushing herself off of him, "N-No you don't understand Mako, he-"

"Asami! That's enough! You're confused! You're under shock and you need help! When was the last time you even ate! You're in the hospital for fatigue and malnutrition for god sakes!" Mako yells trying to snap her out of her funk.

"N-No! That's-"

"Let it go! You need rest! You're just tired… I… I'm sorry… I know this must hurt you more than we can imagine but we're here for you alright? We'll get through this together…"

Looking at the brothers with disbelief, "(Wait they… they don't know?) I-I…" letting out a breath, "…."

They brothers smiled warmly before pulling her in a tight group hug, "Don't worry… Kya said she'd be open to talk to you whenever alright? We know that you didn't take breaking up with Korra really well and then your dad… and topping all of this off Korra's missing… things are just… just seriously confusing and complicated but… but we're here for you okay? We always will be…"

Feeling unsettled, "..." she couldn't exactly form any words, has it really been four weeks? It was still very fresh in her memories that Korra killed her horrendous father just like yesterday. It was just like yesterday that hell came crashing down on her life. Letting out a sigh, she blinked back her tears and hugged her friends back while listening to them reassuring that everything was going to be alright.

She couldn't hear them.

Asami's heart has been broken and torn apart again and again but she finally decided to get some help. It has been a few days since she was released from the hospital and she has been attending multiple therapy sessions per Kya's recommendation. Of course, at first she didn't want them but after Kya's persisting and convincing, she decided to part take in them. Then a few days became weeks and the detective ended up spilling some tea. She twisted the details and told as much as she could without telling the truth. Sitting on a comfortable chair, Asami was lying down with her eyes closed and was tapping her fingers on her thigh.

"I… I can't it shake off… her eyes… m-my dad…the kids! There were so many kids!"

"Asami… why do you blame yourself for what happened to the kids? It wasn't your fault. It was your father's."

"I… there were just so many of them! W-What am I supposed to do? How will I ever be able to- I have to take the blame! To beg for forgiveness and make things right I-"

"Asami… no one blames you for what your father did. He did those horrible crimes. Not you."

"BUT THAT DOESN'T MATTER HE'S GONE! HE'S GONE AND I'M ALL ALONE!"

"You didn't hurt those kids. They don't blame you and you're not alone… you have your friends."

"BUT! But… you don't understand, you don't know what he did…"

"Asami…"

"I-I… I'm sorry, we're done for today I can't-"

Letting out a soft breath, "Alright… take it easy okay? Our next meeting will be next saturday same time alright."

"... I'll see you then."

Session after session, Asami explored her feelings time and time again. She knew that nothing was her fault but it was. Ignorance doesn't mean that you're not guilty and more so when you lived with the sick and vile man for many years. She should've known.

She should've have known.

He was right under her nose yet she missed everything. If she had properly opened her eyes, she would've seen it! Someone had to take responsibly but he was gone. He couldn't pay his time so who would? No one. But, Asami was his only living kin so those rights obviously fell upon her. She tried making things rights. She released an official statement, released the rights to their family's hospital to their closest friend and partners' company and even gave them all generous compensation money.

But none of that helped her.

She knew that the kids had forgiven her which helped but it wasn't what she wanted… what she needed. It didn't and couldn't compare to what actually mattered. Korra. Those people from the earlier research. Who were they? Are they still alive? How many of them are there? Will she ever be able to beg them for their forgiveness? These thoughts plagued the detective before she was finally let back on the team. She tried her best to work on the new cases but she could never take her mind off of that one. That's why today was no different and she is currently patrolling the streets like usual.

"Asami, you have to stop looking for Korra! It's been three whole months already and the force has stopped actively looking for her. Maybe she just moved out of the city? You're not coping well with happened to your dad and being obsessed with Korra isn't helping you. Besides… we've finally ruled out Korra as a suspect behind the Avatar. There were points that added up yet some didn't."

Looking out the window, "I know Mako… I removed some evidence…"

"I was suspicious at first but there really wasn't any solid proof or evidence that connected them… we've exhausted all of our resources and zilch… and well… that's why we're officially naming the Avatar as deceased." Mako says while glancing back and forth at the road and his captain, "I'm sorry… the evidence leads to the killer being dead and… and we couldn't bring him in for what he did to you dad…"

Hardly listening to Mako, Asami was spacing out while looking out the window. They came to a stop and her practically heart drops as her eyes widened from noticing a familiar silhouette.

"Asami look, what I'm trying to say is… I-"

Leaving behind her partner, she quickly runs out the door into the busy streets, "K-KORRA!?" Pushing through the crowd, "KORRA!" Desperately chasing after familiar back, she finally reached the area where she saw the figure. Panting, "W-Where'd she…" looking aimlessly in the crowd.

*meanwhile*

Korra was lost.

Roaming the city mindlessly… she wasn't in her right state of mind. When she was shot, several bullets went through multiple vital organs, including her brain. It didn't help that she had fallen into the ocean as well and washed up onto the shore. But, she was still conscious that night and her survival instincts kicked in making her weakly crawl back to her hideout. When she got there, she managed to dig out a couple bullets leaving several lodged inside of her before screaming in pain and fainting. She fell down with a thud onto the cold, concrete floor sleeping for several days straight.

Her recovery was slower than it should have been.

Korra's wounds ironically healed up normally however the bullets were still in her system. She couldn't take them out on time so because of this, her body succumbed to led poisoning which made her constantly feel dazed and clouded. This messed up Korra's body and conscious real bad and the beast didn't know who she was or why she was even alive. But, the only thing she did know was survival and killing.

However, deep inside of her she had a gut feeling that she shouldn't kill just anyone. She didn't know why but she had to constantly suppress this unknown anger constantly. She was confused. Days and weeks went by as she wandered the city trying to understand who she was. She learned new things every day and repeated this process of exploration, cutting herself, extracting metal, recuperate a few days and repeat. It's finally been three months since the incident and Korra has finally pulled out seven of the ten bullets in her system.

Three more to go.

Her memories were scattered but they finally seemed to be returning slowly and she was remembering who and what she was. But, she didn't know what to do with it. Korra needed help both mentally and physically. There were a lot of emotions and information pouring into her brain but she didn't know how to process it. And as for her physical health, she needed help. Korra has been living with a bullet stuck in her heart for the longest time and it was started to affect her negatively.

She was going to die if it wasn't removed anytime soon.

*Asami POV*

Asami wasn't completely a hundred percent sure that it was Korra but that figure… it looked like Korra and she was certain that her ex-girlfriend was still alive. Mako eventually caught up to her and said some gibberish. She honestly felt like a madman chasing after someone who may not even exist but hell, she didn't care. She knew that Korra was still alive and that they… they were fated to meet. When the two detectives arrived back at the station, she pulled out a map and laid it on her desk grabbing a red pen.

"Asami… Asami what are you doing? You just ran out of the car for no reason and now you're marking up a map? Why are you acting like a madman!" Trying to get her attention.

"What's going on?" Bolin says feeling worried.

"Beats me," crossing his arms while sitting down on his chair.

On the other hand, Asami is circling multiple places that could be used as a good hideout, "It can't be somewhere close to people… has to be secluded… a place where she can make noise or go wild, somewhere abandoned…."

Eliminating several locations, she narrowed it down to three possible candidates: the abandoned warehouse by the ocean, the ruined house in the woods or the building that was planned to be demolished but never did.

Her face was scrunched hard as she thought deeply, "The building has multiple risks so it can't be there… the house is also a good candidate but then the warehouse... the ocean… she fell into the ocean... the ocean? It has to be there!" Slamming the table making the brothers jump, "I'll be back, I need to go somewhere."

"Wait where are you-" shutting his eyes as the door slammed shut.

Asami quickly went into her car and floored it to the warehouse. She knew that Korra might not even be there but it was the only hope she has had in three months. "Korra please be there…" by the time Asami arrived at the warehouse, it was dark. She pulled up at a safe distance and shut her car off before stepping out. Cautiously walking towards the entrance, she had a flashlight in one hand while the other was by her gun holster.

Once inside she cautiously looked around noting that this place was torn apart pretty bad. There were multiple scratch marks on the walls and the furniture was smashed pretty bad. But what gave the detective hope was the bed that looked like someone slept there recently. Suddenly jumping upon hearing a scream, out of reflex she quickly grabbed her gun and walked towards the dim lit light in the distance, "K-Korra?"

She heard a familiar grow before she was slammed against the wall, "WHO ARE YOU? WHY DO YOU KNOW MY NAME!"

Instead of fear, Asami immediately felt relief when she saw her gold eyes, "K-Korra… it's me Korra… I… I-I'm Asami…. yo-ur… ex…" she croaks out unable to breathe.

Upon heard the word "ex" Korra dropped the woman who started gasping for air, "Ex? You were my girlfriend?" Looking at her with disbelief. But, since she really didn't care and was interrupted, she didn't think too much about it and went back on the table she was sitting. Once she sat back down on the metal table, she grabbed a chain hanging from the ceiling with her left hand as she continued to cut open her stomach with a scalpel.

"K-KORRA WHAT ARE YOU-"

"ARGH AAAAAHHHHHH," she slipped her right hand into her stomach searching for the metal that was inside of her. Pulling and gripping the chain with abnormal strength, she morphed it into a abnormal shape as she pulled out a bullet, tossing it into a medical pan that contained the other seven.

Only two more to go.

Korra was panting as she bit down hard trying to calm herself. Her irises started returning to their normal shade as Asami ran over to her side.

"KORRA!" Asami was utterly shocked and worried as hell since her ex-girlfriend, who was dressed in a blue sports bra and black sweats, was bleeding like crazy out of her stomach. "K-Korra what are you- why are you-" she couldn't form her words shocked by what she had just done.

Glancing up, Korra's vision was blurred so she couldn't really read her expression but assumed what she was thinking. "Well, a beast like me can't exactly go to a hospital now can I? Besides how would I explain there's a bullet under my completely normal looking skin." Regaining her sight, she blinks a few times and shakes her head before drinking the water she had set aside. Getting up, she walked over to the sink and washed her hands before dampening a towel and wiped her wound.

It was practically healed.

"Y-You're not a beast Korra…. you're just…"

"JUST WHAT HUH? TELL ME WHAT AM I!" Suddenly snapping at the woman.

"I… you're-"

Something inside of Korra just clicked for some reason and there was a mix of emotions she felt for the woman in front of her. "JUST SAY IT! YOU KNOW IT. YOU KNOW WHAT I AM DON'T YOU. I AM A MONSTER. A BEAST JUST SAY IT!" She roars at the detective.

Taking a step back, "Korra I-"

"GET OUT OF MY FACE! DON'T EVER COME BACK HERE AGAIN!" Smashing in the wall with her fist.

Asami couldn't say anything back.

She didn't know what to do or say so she simply just ran back to her car holding back her tears. "I… I…" resting her head on the steering wheel, she was helpless. She was weak and the only thing she could do was cry. "How… how am I supposed to…" wiping away her tears and shaking her head, she took deep breaths to regain her composure.

But staying in her car didn't help anyone so she decided to go back home and think about what she could do to help Korra. Playing back what she just saw, Korra was removing the bullets from her body, there were only eight in the pan… eight? "Wait… don't tell me…" she was shot by ten officers and none of them missed. And based on the reports there weren't any bullets at the crime scene meaning that, "T-That means there's still two… I, I need to help her!"

Asami knew what she had to do.

By the time she arrived at her apartment, she immediately went inside and grabbed her duffle bag filling it with extra clothes. She then grabbed her backpack and filled it with some medical supplies and food that would help with blood loss and well, hunger. And fortunately for the detective, she had the next day off so she had more freedom to do whatever she pleases. Once she double checked her items, she decided to get a fresh start and took a shower before taking a nap.

She was going to help Korra whether or not she wanted it.