Chapter 21: Escape From the Lower Ring

Asami peeked carefully around a corner as she waited for Bolin to finish taking his shoes off. Their little group of civilian tagalongs had almost doubled its size as they had made their way towards the water plant. With a group this size they needed as many lookouts as possible, so Bolin had decided to lend his assistance by seismic sensing. Once he had his shoes removed, he tied the laces together and swung them over his shoulder, wiggling his toes on the pavement.

"All set," he said. "Let's move."

"Great," said Asami, and she motioned for the group to keep walking. As they crossed a street in to another back-alley, Asami murmured to Bolin: "I know it isn't the most direct route, but I want to pass by the elementary school on our way to the plant. I want to make sure the kids are okay and bring them with us."

"Are you crazy?" said Koti in a much louder voice. "It's five blocks out of the way!"

"Shut up!" hissed Asami, furious that Koti had been eavesdropping. "Keep your voice down! Are you trying to get us all killed?"

"No, you're trying to get us all killed!" shot back Koti. She turned to the rest of the group. "Are you all hearing this? She wants to take us five blocks out of the way to the stupid elementary school!"

"Oh thank goodness," said one of the followers, a young woman who was still wearing the apron she'd been wearing at work. "My son is there. I was going to go there alone but I'd feel so much safer if we all went."

There was a general mutter of approval that permeated through the crowd. Asami glared at Koti and said, "Some of us are willing to risk our own safety for the safety of others. Got any other stupid objections?"

Koti fumed silently as the group made their way towards the school where Asami had seen children playing earlier. Outside the building they paused to let Bolin determine if it was safe to enter. He slammed his foot, waited, and then declared: "There are definitely adults and children in there, all congregated in one spot. It doesn't feel like anyone is running around or firing pistols. I think we're probably good to go in. But there's…" He trailed off, then stamped his foot again. "Yeah, there are definitely people headed this way. Like, a lot of them. They're near the back entrance of the school."

"Keep an eye on them. Or, a foot, I guess," Asami amended awkwardly. She turned to the rest of the group. "Let's go."

They entered the building and headed towards the place where Bolin could sense the people waiting inside the building. It turned out to be an art classroom. At first Asami thought the clutter and mess was just the regular mess of a children's art room, but she quickly realized that this was messy even by those standards. Chairs were upended, tables were pushed out of the way, and a can of blue paint had fallen over, creating a huge messy blue puddle on the floor.

Crouched in a corner were about thirty children and three adults. Asami recognized two of them immediately. "Ren! Gabi!" She hastily moved across the messy room to approach the group. "I'm so happy to see you! I was worried about you two. Are you alright?"

"We're fine," said Ren as she and her daughter accepted hugs. There was palpable relief in her voice. "I came over here as soon as the fighting started. Most of the other kids left with the rest of the teachers, but we got held up by those two." She pointed at two unconscious people in the other corner. Their guns were lying not far from where they'd fallen. Koti went over and knelt down near the men, checking to make sure they were actually out.

"Mama hit the scary men with the coat rack!" exclaimed Gabi. "She was so brave."

"Wow, that is very brave," agreed Asami. She looked at Ren, who was blushing a little. "Can I talk to you in private?" Ren nodded, and Asami led her out in to the hallway. "The city is in uproar. It's not safe out there. Where did the rest of the students and teachers go?"

"I'm not sure. They wanted to leave the city so I guess they probably went to the tram station."

"The tram isn't running. Genly ordered a total quarantine on the lower ring." Asami looked nervously out a window. From this vantage point the city looked deserted, but Asami knew better. The people who were attacking the city would be stuck in the lower ring, too. They were still out there somewhere.

Looking worried, Ren said: "If we can't get out of the city, our best option might be to wait here until everything blows over."

Just then, Bolin poked his head out of the classroom door. "Asami, we've got trouble. The people outside are about to enter the school's courtyard. If they're going to come in to the school it could be any second now."

Asami swore softly. "Alright," she said, biting her lip. "We can't stay here. I know a way out of the city, but it's not going to be easy. Can you keep the children in line?"

"I suppose we'll have to, won't we?"

Bolin appeared again, bouncing on his toes in nervousness. "Asami, it just got worse! There are more of them, and they're definitely going to come in to the school. We need to go right now."

"Get the kids together. We're leaving." The group went out the front door of the school, forming a protective circle around the children. As they crossed the threshold, Bolin reported that the other group had just come through the back door of the school. Asami turned to Opal. "I need you to do me a huge favor."

"Sure, Asami," replied Opal. "Whatever you need."

"Can you go to the roof of the school and make sure the people entering the school aren't the rest of the kids returning?"

"No problem. Be right back." She took to the air, disappearing over the top of the building. A few seconds later she returned, landing with delicate precision right in front of Asami. "It's not the kids. It's a bunch of people holding pistols."

"Say no more. We're moving, folks," said Asami. Then she began to lead the group in the general direction of the plant.

"Where exactly are we going?" asked Ren in a hushed voice, holding on tightly to Gabi's hand.

"There's a tunnel under the city that will lead us to the countryside," explained Asami. "I can't promise it'll be safe, but it's our only option."

"To be honest, I'm not too worried about it," laughed Ren. "I don't know what it is about you, Asami, but I feel perfectly safe with you."

Asami blushed, thinking about Varrick and Zhu Li following behind her with their cameras. She hoped their microphones weren't powerful enough to have picked that up. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said. "I'm going to do everything I can to get us out of this."

They walked as quietly as they could, although one of the kids would occasionally try to make a comment, only to be shushed by one of the adults. Gabi was perfectly calm, taking everything in with an alert, curious eye. Asami had never known her to be this quiet; usually she was trying to talk Asami's ear off. Clearly she understood the direness of their situation and the importance of keeping quiet, but at the same time she didn't seem to be the least bit afraid. The little girl caught Asami watching her and smiled encouragingly. Asami smiled back, thinking that her parents were obviously doing a great job raising her.

At one corner, they encountered four pistol-carrying citizens. Several children screamed as Asami reacted with lightning-quick reflexes. She kicked one of the men in his chest, which caused him to stumble back in to one of his comrades. Taking advantage of their physical contact, Asami activated her glove and shocked both of them at the same time.

Meanwhile, Opal had used an airbending slice to knock the weapon out of one of the other men's hands, and Bolin opened lava up beneath the other, singeing his feet and pant legs. They were quickly dispatched and the group continued on their way.

There were several other encounters like that one as they walked through the city, and each time Asami used her glove to good effect. They were extremely fortunate in terms of injuries; thanks to Bolin, they always got the jump on their enemies. But the closer they got to the plant, the more frequent were the attacks. One of the civilians in Asami's group was badly wounded by a shot in her shoulder, and the effect it had on the children was devastating. Many of them were crying, wailing for their parents. Even Gabi had tears glistening behind her eyes. "It's okay," cooed one of the teachers. "Don't worry, sweethearts. Everything is going to be alright."

Asami wished she shared her optimism. Trying to focus on the task at hand, she took a deep breath, set her shoulders, and forced the group to continue on.

But their good luck continued to fade. Three more citizens were injured, including the young mother wearing the apron. Her son was understandably inconsolable as he watched the others wrap the wound in her arm with her apron and tie it off tightly. To everyone's surprise, Gabi walked up to the boy and hugged him, and gradually the boy began to calm. Gabi released him and he immediately attached himself to his mother, sniffling but no longer crying. Looking at Ren's face, Asami could see a look of pride and love so moving that she felt herself rock on her feet. She could only imagine how proud Ren must be feeling. The child she had raised was turning in to a sensitive, happy and delightful person.

Korra and Asami had spoken about having children, but it seemed a distant dream to them. There were so many things in the world that needed their attention that they couldn't fathom trying to raise a child on top of all that. But watching Ren as she knelt down to hug her daughter, Asami felt an ache she'd never felt before. At that moment, she realized just how badly she wanted a child. And though the arguments against having one right now were considerable, it didn't shake her certainty that emotionally, she was ready whenever Korra was.

She was shaken from her thoughts when a hand clapped down on her shoulder and squeezed painfully hard. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Bolin staring at her with wide, frightened eyes and a ghostly pale face. "We're in trouble," he said under his breath.

"How bad?"

A hard swallow and a little shake of his head made Asami's heart race with fear. "We're about to be surrounded." His voice was rough, as if his mouth had gone completely dry.

"How many?" asked Asami, looking around her for any early signs of the attack. The mobs that wandered through the city moved with eerie silence and precision. They didn't seem to need to communicate with one another at all.

"I don't know, Asami," he replied, his green eyes sparkling as they filled with tears. "I don't know if we're going to make it out of this one."

There had never been a situation where Asami had heard Bolin say anything so pessimistic. Asami knew this must mean the situation was dismal. "Yes, we are. We are, Bolin. Where are they coming from?"

"Everywhere," he whispered.

"What direction should we run?" Asami's heart was still thumping, her sense of urgency rising with every passing second.

Bolin shook his head. "We can't."

They were standing on one of the corners of a four-way intersection. As Asami looked around, she began to see the people Bolin had spoken of, and understood his fear. From each direction came a group of twenty armed citizens. Eighty attackers. They were hopelessly outnumbered. It seemed their luck had finally run out. Asami couldn't believe how stupid she'd been. Why did she make everyone leave the school? Why did she insist on setting out for the tunnel? Why couldn't she have just found everyone some place to lie low and hide?

Now everything was going to end. For the second time in as many hours, Asami was faced with certain death, only now everyone else in her group was going to die too. She'd gotten them all killed, just like Koti had said she would.

The attackers entered the intersection and pistols were pointed at them from every direction. Asami reached out and grasped Bolin's hand, squeezing as hard as she could. "I'm sorry," she said to the group. Bolin returned the squeeze.

"Not your fault," replied Ren, who was kneeling on the ground and holding Gabi close to her body, her arms wrapped tightly around her.

In these last seconds of her life, she pictured Korra's face, and her claims that she'd never be able to recover from losing Asami. Don't let that be true, thought Asami. Korra, you deserve to be happy. I'm so sorry.

With an unbelievably loud noise and a huge lurch of trembling earth, the mob fired at the unarmed civilians. All became darkness and confusion. Asami dropped down to the ground as the shaking made her lose her footing. Is this what it feels like to be dead?

But why would pistols make the ground shake? She raised her head just as light returned to her eyes. They'd been encased in a rock bubble, and the top had just been removed by an earthbender. From the hole at the top dropped a man Asami recognized despite his fancy new black metal armor. "Chen?" said Asami incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

"Serving my master. Protecting you. Doing my job. Being a hero. Do I need to continue?" he said with a lopsided smile.

"What's going on?" Asami could hear gunfire and the telltale sounds of earthbending from outside their protective bubble.

"My brothers in the Dai Li have regained their Fortitude, and we are here to protect the wife of the Avatar. We will escort you back to the Palace."

Asami could hear the group of civilians muttering about the Dai Li, but she and Chen ignored it. "We can't go back to the Palace until the quarantine is lifted. I want to take these people through the tunnel and out of the city."

"Alright then," replied Chen. "We will escort you to the tunnel. For now, I must check on my brothers." He leapt up and out of the bubble.

A few minutes later, the sounds of fighting tapered off and ended. The rock bubble around them returned to the earth, and Asami's group found that the intersection was destroyed beyond all recognition. Huge chunks of earth had been removed, demolished, and turned in to gravel. Unconscious pistol zombies lay strewn about the area, and the Dai Li agents were walking amongst them, destroying their discarded guns. Bolin whistled and said, "Man, this place is trashed! Glad I don't work in construction anymore." He glanced at Asami and added: "No offense."

Asami rolled her eyes and began walking. The Dai Li and the rest of the group followed her, although a dozen agents constantly moved around as they leapt across the rooftops, ran ahead to check the path ahead, and kept watch on their rear . Asami found herself walking next to Chen, who was keeping a wary eye out for danger. "Chen, what did you mean when you said your brothers had found their 'Fortitude?' How exactly did you get them to come back to themselves?"

"We told them their names," said Chen simply.

"Excuse me?"

He sighed, considering how best to explain. "Fortitude is the quality which Avatar Kyoshi looked for in an agent in the Dai Li. It is the ability to retain your own will. My brothers had lost their identities, and thus, their Fortitude. We six who have been training with the Avatar never lost our Fortitude. And we were able to restore it to our brothers."

"So you think that's why you six didn't end up as pistol zombies?" Asami asked.

"Yes. And I believe it is why you have not become one, either."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You may not realize it, but you have Fortitude too. It is obvious to all who meet you. All of the people in this group must possess some measure of Fortitude in order to retain their free will, but you, Asami Sato, have it in spades."

For the second time that day, Asami blushed and hoped the cameras weren't listening.

They continued down the street in silence, Asami turning over Chen's words in her head. How could he say that Asami had more Fortitude than any other regular person? She didn't feel any different from anyone else.

If Fortitude was the ability to retain identity and will, she had to admit that her father was responsible for that. All throughout her childhood, Hiroshi Sato had instilled in her the importance of being strong, independent, and decisive in all aspects of her life. He'd never tried to hold her back or stifle any aspect of her personality. When she'd found that she preferred working with the mechanics in her father's factories over playing with the other children her age, he'd encouraged her to do it. In fact he'd even had a child-sized jumpsuit made special for her with her name embroidered over her heart. And when Asami had wanted to go to college to study even though her father claimed she was ready to begin officially working for Future Industries, he had nonetheless supported her decision.

In all aspects of her life, her father had said that above all, she must be true to herself. And that, in its essence, was Fortitude. It was knowing her identity and not questioning herself. It was confidence, certainty, and sturdiness.

So, all things considered, she had a lot to thank her father for.

The group arrived at the water plant at last. The weary travelers approached the wall of spirit vines, with Asami, Chen, Bolin, Opal and Koti at the front. As they approached the vines parted, and the group marched through and down the well-hidden tunnel beyond. In the main chamber Asami was relieved to see the wreckage of hundreds of pistols.

"I'm afraid this is where my brothers and I must leave you, wife of the Avatar," said Chen.

"You can call me Asami, you know," teased Asami gently.

Chen gave her a friendly smile. "Alright then, I will. But we must part ways here nonetheless. The Avatar has given us a task that only we can perform. We must go back above ground and protect the city."

"I understand. Thank you so much for what you did for us today. None of us would be standing here if it wasn't for you and your brothers."

"It was our honor to assist you," replied Chen, putting his fist against his open palm and bowing.

Asami returned the bow. "Now go and do what you have to do. Be safe out there, okay? Korra will be really mad if you guys don't come back in one piece."

"Why do you think we offered to escort you to the tunnel in the first place? We are well aware of how angry she would be if we did not protect you, Asami." With that, he and the other fifty agents of the Dai Li headed for the tunnels that would bring them back up to the lower ring.

Asami and the rest of the group began walking down the tunnel which would lead under the wall of Ba Sing Se and out in to the safety of the countryside beyond. Lanterns lined the tunnel, and Asami could see the spirit vine that was growing through the wall running along the roof of the tunnel above their heads.

They reached the point in the tunnel where Asami estimated that the wall must be directly above them. Bolin, Asami and Koti stepped aside to let everyone else pass them to make sure they all got out safely. After the last civilian had passed, Koti positioned herself in the center of the tunnel facing Asami, her back towards the rest of the group headed away from the city. "We can go, Koti," said Asami. "Let's get out of this tunnel."

Koti put her hand behind her back, her face blank and emotionless. When she brought her hand back, she was holding a shiny metallic pistol. She pointed it at Bolin and shot him in the leg with a noise so loud that Asami's ears rang. If Bolin had yelled, Asami hadn't heard it.

Then, her face impassive and uncaring, Koti pointed the pistol at Asami.