CHAPTER EIGHT
Mako's police car was kept clean and pristine. Asami noticed the shining door handles, almost refraining from placing her hand on the passenger handle to keep it clean.
"I can tell this police car has been kept in mint condition," Asami said as she took quick glance over the body of the car, impressed with Mako's attention to detail. Just standing a foot away, she could see her own reflection.
Mako furrowed his shark brows, looking for more specks to clean off his side doors. "In fact, Chief Beifong just gave me this car last week. I want to make sure I'm taking care of the city's resources," he said as he rubbed out a water spot on the side door with his sleeve.
A bird flew by, splattering a large mass of white and black right on his windshield.
"Aw, come on!" Mako gestured at the bird, who glanced back at him and seemed to mock him.
Asami pursed her lips and tried not to laugh.
Mako glanced at her and could see the snicker creeping onto her face. "Hey!"
Asami shrugged. "You know what they say, they like new cars the most."
"Ugh," Mako glared at the disgusting splotchy mess. "Let's get in, I need to tell you about something before the gull-pigeons pelter my machine."
He looked around cautiously for a long moment. Asami looked around from left to right, a bit creeped out by Mako's paranoia over his car. "Mako, I think it's okay. Gull-pigeons are virtually harmless."
"No, no. It's not that. I think we should talk in the car while we're driving to the council meeting."
"There was a council meeting?" Asami said as she reached for the shining door handle.
"It was called as an emergency," Mako said as he ignited the engine.
Asami tried to process the situation. "An emergency council meeting? Does Korra know about this?"
Mako sped down the city streets. "We can get Korra right now to bring her to her to the meeting-"
"Umm," Asami cut him off. "Korra's not home," Asami said, imagining Korra still walking back to Air Temple Island. The sensation of the softness of her skin still fresh in Asami's mind. Mako's voice cut into her reverie and brought her back to reality.
"Oh. Then, where is she?" Mako asked.
"You can drop me off at the meeting first. Korra's probably at Narook's getting some seaweed soup or something. What's going on with Kuvira?"
"Well, Kuvira sent a message to President Raiko about how this is turning into an open arms race. She wants to start a war with Republic City unless we surrender soon," Mako explained. "And, Lin wants to see how production is going with your factory and she's hoping you can help mediate the shout-fest that is going on right now. They're like children in there. It's like the first time I've seen grown adults bickering like street kids, except using big fancy words and other weird phrases."
"Oh, Mako," Asami sighed. "You've a lot to learn about politics and business in Republic City. If you don't like it, it's going to take years to change the culture."
"...some culture," Mako snorted. The world was becoming even uglier as he grew older. He remembered the days that he and his brother would figure out clever ways to earn a few yen here and there to survive, but now that he had a good paying job, it all seemed like an endless rat race to him. Society always had a way of tainting everything that seemed good. Was it society or was it the people who ran it?
As they walked down the newly waxed floors of Republic City Hall, they could hear muffled, shouting voices emerging from the heavy set double doors. The politicians were shouting so loud that the hallways slightly echoed with their voices. Asami mentally buckled down to prepare herself for what was to come. Mako sighed before he pushed the door open to a cacophony of noise.
Raiko, Lin, Izumi, Su Yin and Tonraq were, indeed, shouting and pointing fingers at each other. Only the twins from the Northern Water Tribe and Prince Wu appeared to be calm, yet uninterested. Desna rested his head on his arm as if it was a heavy block of lead, ready to roll off his wrist. Eska's tight facial expression and far off eyes conveyed a sense that she was off in a distant land, deriving pleasure from sentencing water tribe criminals to cruel punishments. They did not even notice when Asami entered the room.
"We need to defend the walls of Republic City or else Kuvira will outrun all territorial boundaries!" President Raiko shouted, his voice bouncing off the high wall of the courthouse.
Asami listened. She listened intently on the 'discussion' to follow, analyzing when would be the best for her interject.
"If she was never interim president, this could have all been avoided," Desna said with agitation.
"She united the empire, didn't she?" Tonraq said roughly. "Who knew that her army would move this far! And, that was a collective decision! The Northern Watertribe was well aware of what they agreed to."
"The fact is that Kuvira must be stopped!" Lin said as she slammed her fist down.
"The Fire Nation has spent too much of its history fighting unnecessary wars. I will not drag my nation into another one," Firelord Izumi said resolutely.
A wave of silence filled the room. The statement shocked all the world leaders. They did not expect such a position from the Fire Nation. It was a strange change in the fire nation's historical behavior. Raiko was the most confused in the room. He was almost certain that he would have the Firelord's firepower in this fight.
"But, Firelord Izumi!" Reiko said incredulously. "You- you can't just stand by and watch the world war at each other! Think about the flow of power between the nations!"
Firelord Izumi looked at him sternly. Tonraq considered the Firelord Izumi's stance and took it up as a wise one to take. "The Water Tribe nations will send some of our troops, but we will also mainly defend our borders," Tonraq said.
Raiko was baffled. He was losing control of the situation and his city might as well have burned down to the ground at this instant because he certainly felt like it just did. "Tonraq?" Tonraq rested his elbows on the table and looked off to the distance, thinking about the safety of his tribe.
Raiko glanced at each of the council members and the leaders before him. He was shocked and felt like the rug had been pulled out under him. What other leader was going to leave Republic City to fend for itself now?
"We all don't stand a chance," the non-bender raised her voice to make a statement. The council did a double take. Asami Sato had arrived. She took another step forward toward the council.
"Miss Sato! When did you get here?" Reiko asked, genuinely surprised.
"Nevermind that," Asami waved off his question. "Every nation is at a severe disadvantage unless we sabotage her spirit energy orb generator."
"Her what?" Lin said, bewildered.
"She created a spirit energy orb generator. It'll cause an explosion so large… it'll destroy Republic City and 30 miles off the bay, which includes Air Temple Island as well." Asami watched as Tenzin's eyes fell to the floor. Tenzin's heart sank as he thought about his family, his home.
"How do you know this?" Reiko asked in disbelief.
"I've been… collecting insider information on Kuvira's projects. The source is not important. What is important is how we work together to stop it."
President Raiko scoffed. "You just expect me to believe such a grandiose end of the world scenario?"
"What are you scoffing for?" The Firelord shot a look of disgust at President Reiko. "I specialize in Fire Nation affairs, but even I know this woman has given so much to this city. Your lack of trust is astounding." She turned towards Asami. "How do you destroy the generator?" Izumi asked.
Asami slightly nodded to acknowledge her gratefulness for the Fire Lord's support. "It's not simple. The New Earth Kingdom Army has been harvesting spirit vines and studying their cosmic spatial properties and properties of conductivity—" Asami stopped herself from veering into technical jargon. "I mean, Kuvira designed it so that if a person tried to destroy it using bending or non-bending, the device would explode, turning everything in a 30 mile radius into ash and sending spirits into an eternal state of cosmic disarray. For instance, if someone- a bender- like if Korra tried to spirit bend it-"
"If I spirit bended what?" Korra said as she burst through the doors. "Starting another meeting without me? Seriously?" She looked around the room.
Guilt clouded all of their faces, except Prince Wu's. Some of them shifted their eyes nervously as the Avatar approached them intimidatingly down the aisle.
"You too, Asami? Dad?" Korra said. They looked down at the ground. Asami nervously folded her hands in front of her.
Korra threw her hands in the air. "I know I've been gone for three years, but heck! Some respect would be nice!"
"Nothing much happened if you were wondering," Prince Wu said flatly, as he hung his legs between the rungs of the chair, swinging them in the air carelessly.
A spirit vine creeped an inch closer from a far off window and it caught Tonraq's eye. He tried to stayed focus on the matter at hand and promised to explain everything to his daughter later. "Wait, wait, all this just from spirit vines?" Tonraq said in disbelief as he eyed the harmless looking vine inching in from a nearby window.
"All what?" Korra asked.
"Kuvira wants to go 'boom' to Republic City with a generator that's powered by spirit vines." Prince Wu said, unamused. Then he perked up. "Seriously, that woman is hot stuff, but kind of a pyromaniac… Mm, I like 'em spicy," he thought aloud as he daydreamed about being on a hot date with Kuvira.
"And, the generator is sensitive to spirit energy, externally, right Asami?" Tenzin added, making a mental note to never invite Prince Wu to city council meetings.
Asami nodded.
"What is the purpose of the spirit orb generator?" Izumi asked.
"It powers her giant mecha-tank, which can also decimate cities of vast proportions," Asami answered. "We don't have that kind of technology to fight it. There's not enough time."
"Then, what are we supposed to do? Kuvira requested that if we surrender, we hand over 'Team Avatar.' But apparently, we can't fight back." President Reiko said. He realized that Asami could be the answer to his problems now that the other world leaders were pulling back in the face of this powerful adversary...
Silence once again filled the room.
Korra tried to let the information sink in. "Hand over Team Avatar? What does she want to do with Team Avatar? Can someone please explain what's happening?"
Su Yin said her first words since entering this meeting. "To eliminate the strongest dissenters."
Everyone followed the voice to a corner of the room where Su Yin had been standing in the shadows. Kuvira had been a protégé to her. A daughter. Su felt like she had released a monster into the world. She emerged from the corner in the room and her sallow eyes indicated that she had not slept in weeks. Asami felt slightly heartbroken as she understood that this powerful and composed matriarch had been through much turmoil lately. "Kuvira is a…" Su Yin paused as she struggled to painfully describe her own creation that had turned on the world. "...great strategist. I know exactly what she's trying to do. Once she eliminates the Avatar, the next reincarnation will be under the new Earth Kingdom's control, and who knows what will happen then...If anything, I've learned my lesson about standing down in the face of political needs. We must not back down."
"Then, what are we supposed to do?" President Raiko asked again.
"I know a way to dismantle the generator, and as a non-bender, I can do it…" Asami said.
"Well, you could have started with that," Prince Wu said agitatedly, examining his nails.
"I don't think you all understood the gravity of the matter. This is a situation that must be handled carefully and every nation's leader has to be aware of the potential consequences of this arms race. Above all, we're running out of time. Kuvira's going to attack in a week."
Asami headed back to her factory after the meeting to check on production. The smell of burnt rubber and hot metal permeated the air. The sparks reflected in Asami's goggles flew wildly as she watched her factory produce war machines.
"I've started the energy project testing phases. We're on phase 3, Asami," Tadashi, her trusted partner in production, said to the CEO.
"What were the results from phase 2?" Asami asked.
"95% power efficiency. Better than I imagined a few years ago." Tadashi replied.
"Are the Pele devices planted?"
"Yes, they're in full capacity. We should test the remote again for a more accurate range."
"I'll take care of that part," Asami said firmly. "The central energy device to be planted in Republic City," she said as she pointed to a map marked with dots to indicate the locations of energy supply to Kuvira's Colossal mecha tank, "can be powered on and off with Pele's spirit fire. The remote to activate it isn't absolutely necessary. I'll start the production process for a remote controlled activator for Kuvira, though."
"Miss Sato… forgive me… I don't seem to follow. What do you mean you'll take care of that part? The testing team just needs your permission to begin the testing process."
"I'll run the trial on my own. It's simple."
"So, will you need the testing facility? Do you need me to book it?" Tadashi scratched his head. How was she going to test a device without a proper setting?
"Don't worry about it, Tadashi. Just focus on the rest of the project for now. Anyway, I appreciate what you've done here. You're an amazing assistant and I'll touch base with you later," she said as she gave him a good-natured pat on the shoulder and a smile.
Tadashi humbly bowed his head, but he could not help but wonder what the CEO meant. She walked in the opposite direction in a slow gait and he thought he saw a flash of sorrow in her eyes before she turned away.
A couple hours later, Asami had just finished delegating new tasks to a manager when Korra appeared, standing patiently at a door into the factory.
"Korra, what are you doing here?" Asami dismissed her assistant quickly and walked over to Korra.
"Why didn't you tell me you knew all this?" Korra pulled Asami aside. "Wait... this is what you were going to tell me on the train, but you didn't."
"Look, I was pretty distracted this afternoon…" Asami blushed. "And, I just couldn't, I didn't know how, it's complicated..."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't tell you this now, can we please talk about this later?" Asami nearly pleaded, hoping that this wasn't all happening at this moment.
"No, Asami, please," Korra said sincerely. She'd been gone and trying to catch up with everyone else around her was a marathon, especially when the council had tried to shut her out. She needed to be on the same page with Asami, at the very least. "I need to know now. I know I haven't been around, but I'm here and I need to know. I deserve to."
Asami's regrets came flooding back and she gave in. It was time to stop playing games. This was Korra. Her Korra. "You're right. I didn't want to lie to you, Korra," Asami started speaking rapidly and her heart began to race. She looked at Korra, but her blue eyes were all too beautiful to look at. Asami felt like she did not deserve to gaze into them, so she stared at the floor as words just flew out of her mouth uncontrollably. "That's the last thing that I would want to do. The very last thing. I'm just—I can't—everything's great and then I lose something and things get out of control…"
"Asami," Korra reached for Asami's hand and held it tenderly. "Breathe. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."
Asami took a deep breath as she gazed into those blue oceans that Korra calls eyes. It was rare that Asami spoke before thinking. "While you were gone, I had just gotten my company back up and running and we were producing so many amazing things. Then, Bataar Junior came into my office and threatened to take everything if I didn't work for Kuvira's army." She lowered her eyes again.
"Did you tell anyone?" Korra asked, alarmed.
"They were going to take everything that ever mattered to me, Korra. Everything and everyone. Kuvira's army had already infiltrated the city. But I wasn't just going to sit around and let them win. I knew Kuvira's attack was imminent, it was just a matter of when, so I worked with them while also gathering information."
"You're the source of all that information you just told the council?" Korra's eyes widened. "But if Kuvira found out, you…" Korra's grip grew tighter on Asami's hand. "You're putting your own life at stake. I can't believe you didn't tell me… or anyone about this."
Asami could not help but furrow her eyebrows in frustration. She took a step back. "And, then what? You were the main target, Korra. Don't you see what would have happened?" she asked, her voice rising. The pent-up hurt and frustration from Korra's absence came creeping back, but Asami noticed that she was starting to lose it. She took a deep breath and channeled her emotions differently.
Meanwhile, Korra began to feel small in the face of Asami's anger, so she let out a small breath of relief when Asami's countenance changed drastically.
"I was afraid you'd sacrifice yourself again, so there! I said it." Tears lined her eyes and she tried to hold them back.
"...Sacrifice myself again?" Korra did not understand and she looked around the factory, as if trying to find the answer.
"Zaheer." Asami said, trying not to choke.
"Zaheer?" Korra's voice cracked as the depth of Asami's anxiety hit her.
"Because there's no way I was going to let that happen. I cannot and will not stand by for history to repeat itself. It would… kill me, Korra."
Asami looked at her with the saddest eyes Korra's ever seen. Korra reached out to her and held her in a tight embrace. "I'm… sorry." Korra did not know what else to say to make it up for her, words seemed weightless.
A wave of emotions welled up in the CEO who melted so easily in the Avatar's presence. Tears again lined her emerald eyes.
Korra just reached out and held her in the silence. Korra delicately held Asami's face in her hands and wiped her tears away. Asami rested her face against Korra's chest and completely fell into Korra's arms, trusting her. Before they knew it, Korra was holding Asami as they sat on the floor. Korra held her, like she was repaying her for all the times Asami had done when Korra was paralyzed. She held her, like she was apologizing for being away for three whole years. She held her, like she was never going to let go.
Then, Asami pulled away.
"I'm being selfish," Asami shook her head. "You're the Avatar. And I'm preventing you from saving the world because of my own fear of losing you."
"I don't blame you, Asami. You've lost so much in your life." She looked at Asami with sympathy. Korra desperately searched for words to explain her thoughts. "But… we can do this together. We can work on this together. You don't have to be alone in this. If I have learned anything from wandering those three years, it's that in times like these we all don't have to be alone, and we shouldn't be."
Asami saw the sincerity in Korra's eyes and she leaned into Korra's chest, feeling the solid and reassuring heartbeat against her own.
Suddenly, an explosion rumbled off the coast of Republic City. Korra and Asami looked at each other in shock as they felt the ground slightly tremble. Asami tried to compose herself.
"Korra, you should go."
The Avatar did not want to leave. She did not budge.
"Go, Korra. I'll be fine," Asami said as she tried to smile.
Korra hesitantly stood up and helped Asami stand on her feet. She kissed Asami on the forehead and then said, "I'll see you tonight, alright?"
Asami tenderly kissed her on the cheek. Korra lingered as she broke off.
When their hands unclasped, Asami called out, "Wait, Korra."
Korra immediately spun around.
"Be careful," Asami said as she reached up to wipe off the lipstick smudge she left on Korra's cheek.
Korra stopped her. "I'll keep it there for good luck," Korra said, referring to the lipstick smudge on her face. Before Asami could say anything, the Avatar smirked and ran out the door.
Asami's hand was left hanging in mid-air. She rested that hand on her heart instead.