Author's Note: The next chapter is changing the order of things a bit, but I feel like two whole chapters in-between one of the main plots kills the pacing (and yes, the next two chapters are connected). So therefore we're going back to Republic City and our other leading lady. I also decided to add some time stamps in this chapter. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 32: Tangled Web
Avatar Korra has entered the Spirit World along with Tenzin's daughter, Jinora. Back in Republic City, everybody loves Varrick's Nuk-Tuk Movers. Everyone that is, except Mako who's pursuit of Varrick has landed him in the slammer! Asami's convinced he's innocent, but even with the help of the masked hero Shaobing, can she prove it and expose Varrick?"
11:00 AM
"So to start..." Shaobing said as he and Asami looked over all of the evidence Mako had gathered before being arrested. "...we need to find out who framed Mako and get them to admit to it. Do you have any ideas on how we might find them?"
Asami shook her head. "No I'm sorry, I don't. The only thing I can think of is that it would have to have been someone who knew about the sting operation, when it was happening, and was also working with the Triads, since they were the ones who accused Mako in the first place."
"Then I think I know who we're visiting first."
11:15 AM
"Come on, roll already!" the one Triad said to his counterpart, who was taking a ridiculously long time to make his next move following his recent string of bad luck.
"You can't expect me to be so eager now that I'm down to my last couple yuans."
"Well stalling's not gonna make your yuan pile get any bigger. Now roll the damn dice!"
"Alright, alright already..." the one Triad grumbled before rolling. Both came up with a three on them.
"Alright then." He said. "...because both dies are the same number, you'll need a lucky seven to win the pot."
"Don't tell me how to play the game, I'm not an idiot." the other Triad shot back angrily. Taking the dice in hand, he gave them a good shake before letting them roll. The first came out a four, and the second rolled a little further before coming up a three.
"Yes! Seven! Looks like you're cleared out again, Song."
Song cursed loudly at the climax of his bad luck, before reluctantly handing over the last of his yuans to his opponent. "I swear those dice are loaded…"
"Spoken like a true sore loser." the other Triad said smugly.
The two thug's gambling was interrupted when another triad went smashing through the door, reducing it to a splintered ruin as he landed hard on the ground. Looking out past the broken door at what had thrown their comrade through, they saw a distinctive blue mask in the shadows that in mere moments was on top of them.
Song was first to attack and was quickly grabbed and thrown over Shaobing's head, landing on the nearby table with such force he destroyed it, the legs snapping like twigs underneath the table itself. That just left the recent winner of their game, who didn't last any longer.
"Who planted the evidence in Mako's apartment?" Shaobing growled to the Triad he had at his mercy.
"Who?"
"The Triads framed a police officer named Mako for crimes he didn't do. Evidence was planted in his apartment. Who did it?"
"I don't know!" the thug cried, about ready to wet himself as Shaobing's interrogation reduced him to a frightened child trapped in an adult's body. "I swear I don't know! But I might know who does…"
"Start talking." Shaobing growled. "And for your sake, don't try to lie."
"Word is someone's been buying off members of the police force. When we tried to buy them off they said they were already set for life. Figures, right? We can't even bribe these guys to leave us alone…"
"I don't suppose you have any idea which cops specifically have been bought off?" Shaobing asked in a deceptively conversational tone.
"No idea." the Triad said meekly.
"Not surprised." Shaobing replied before elbowing the thug in the face and knocking him out. As he threw his unconscious body to the ground, the Blue Spirit began thinking of what police officers would be most likely to be on Varrick's payroll. He didn't need to think long.
"Time to pay Officer Gang a visit."
11:22 AM
"So what do you have for me today, old pal?" Gang asked a man wearing a heavy trenchcoat. "And don't take too long showing me. I gotta get back to my shift soon before anyone realizes I'm not there."
"Well, I've got most of the usual stuff here: Dream-Powder, Ember Island Ale, some stimulants…what are you up for?"
"You got anything a bit more…'exclusive'?"
"If you've got the cash for it."
Smiling, Gang took out a small stack of yuans. "I think this will cover it."
But as the other man extended an arm to take it the meeting was interrupted by a bola that went zipping through the air before entangling itself around the man in the trenchcoat. Whipping around, Gang saw nothing, but still knew better than to stick around and took off. He didn't get far.
A swift booted kick to the back of his head forced Gang to the ground hard. Spinning around to face his attacker, he saw Shaobing standing over him, the tip one of his hook-swords pointed right at his throat.
"You and I need to have a little talk 'officer'."
"Got nothing to say to you."
"Is that a fact?"
Mere moments later, Gang had been reduced to a quivering wreck courtesy of the interrogation techniques Shaobing had learned from Lin Bei-Fong.
"Ready to talk now?"
"I didn't do it! I swear!" Gang cried. "I swear to the Spirits…"
"Swear to me!" Shaobing yelled before grabbing one half of Gang's mustache and taking out a knife.
"No! Not old black beauty! You wouldn't dare!"
"Try me."
"I don't know! I don't know okay? Look, yeah I've been taking jobs for Varrick on the side, and he pays me to look the other way when he starts dealing in Black Market stuff, but I had nothing to do with Mako, and I don't know who did!"
"Well guess what? Unless you want me to make life even more miserable for you, you're going to help me find who is working for Varrick and who helped him steal from Future Industries and frame Mako. You're going to be my inside man. Understand?"
"Go to hell!"
Shaobing responded by wordlessly cutting off one half of Gang's long black mustache, letting the dark colored hairs fall to the ground as tears came out of the crooked cop's eyes.
"NO!"
"Let me rephrase my request: you're going to help me find who Varrick's inside men in the police force are, or you're gonna lose the other half of your mustache. Your choice."
"…I really hate you"
"I'm not really sure I care. In fact, I'm fairly certain I don't. It's your choice, Gang. Choose wisely."
11:24 AM
The sun shone brightly in the sky on the day the Steel Empire forces assembled outside of the Southern Water Tribe's last remaining stronghold. But this did little to warm the air, and it remained freezing to the skin of the Steel Empire troops who were still unused to it, even after spending a while in the frigid cold environment. The metal armor the troops wore did little to make them more comfortable.
Despite this, the Steel Empire soldier's blood ran boiling hot with both their intense hatred for the enemy, and also their dreams of victory and fervent desire to prove themselves worthy in the eyes of their gods.
As Captain Siegfried oversaw the frozen landscape, he made care to note that his enemy had not yet made their move, but was certain that they had seen him by now. An army of well over a hundred men was a hard thing to miss.
Indeed, within the Southern Water Tribe's fort they did see their enemies arriving, at which point the alarm was sounded and Tonraq ordered the warriors to prepare for attack. Archers lined the battlements of the fort as Tonraq situated himself into a position where he could command all of the men with the most efficiency. The gates were barred and reinforced with anything and everything that was on hand to use. The women and children were all ordered to take refuge in the caves of the massive mountain of ice and snow that the fort was built into. As the Steel Empire forces came closer and closer, Tonraq found himself more and more dreading what would come next. It had been a very long time since he'd been in a fight, much less commanded troops. And he'd never done the latter in such a manner before. Between that and his enemy's strength of arms and armor, as well as their metalbending and fanaticism, Tonraq did not think highly of his chances of victory.
But that didn't mean he still wouldn't fight to his last breath to protect his wife and the rest of his people.
Back out on the open field of ice and snow, Captain Siegfried gave the orders to his men: "Alright, that fort is where all our enemies are holed up. We're going to bring it down and overwhelm it's inhabitants. I want the armored cavalry in front, and the shield wall behind. The lighter cavalry will be next. The rest of you don't move in until we've shattered their defenses, otherwise you'll all be slaughtered by their archers."
"What of our siege weaponry, captain?" Siegfried's lieutenant asked.
"On it's way." Captain Siegfried replied. "That factors into the greater strategy. We weaken them with the first waves, and then once the siege weapons come, we deliver the coup de grae. Not what I would do necessarily, but General Marcus' word is the one we follow. Do you all understand your duties?"
The assembled army let out a massive holler of rage and self-righteous fervor to show they understood full well what their captain was telling them, every moment filling them with more and more adrenaline as they prepared for the chaos that would ensue. Back in the fort, Tonraq allowed himself to close his eyes for but one moment before the battle began in full.
"Where are you, Korra? We need you. Now more than ever."
11:27 AM
"So what did you find?" Asami asked as she and Shaobing met back up in Mako's apartment.
"I learned that Varrick has at least one member of the police on his payroll. Honestly, I'm not surprised. All that remains now is figuring out which cops are in his pocket. I already tracked down one of them, but he isn't our man. He is however, our informant."
"What?"
"I told him to be my inside man." Shaobing explained. "Once he figures out who the culprit is, he'll alert us."
"And what if he betrays you?"
"He won't." Shaobing said. "Not when I've got dirt on him."
"I don't think the police would listen to a man in a mask accusing one of their own…no offense."
"None taken. And no, they wouldn't. But they would listen to someone else who knew…someone like you."
Asami smiled. "Wow. You think of everything, don't you?"
"No. Just everything I need to think of. Granted, I will admit that there is a risk to be had. But I also couldn't see any other way that would get us results any time soon. So we'll see if my plan works or not."
11:30 AM
"Charge!" Captain Siegfried ordered as loud as he could. Heeding his command, the armored cavalry was the first to move forward, riding atop fearsome Demi-Gryphs, animals with a well-built feline body and four clawed hands and the breast and head of a large bird of prey, man-made armor covering the head and beak.
Seeing the rows of armored cavalry-men charging towards them, Tonraq gave the order for the archers to fire. A volley of arrows sailed into the air before coming down like a rainstorm of sharpened bone. Unfortunately, the armored cavalry's armor and shields weathered the assault, with most of the arrows bouncing or breaking uselessly the second they made contact with their targets.
Cursing under his breath, Tonraq told the archers to aim for the neck and armpits, noting that that was where the armor was at it's weakest. The archers attempted to heed his advice but most were simply not good enough shots to hit such small targets, especially when they were moving. In the end, most of the arrows struck the snow instead of armor or flesh.
Snarling at how the battle had gotten off to a terrible start, Tonraq ordered the catapults to fire. Tonraq had hoped not to use the precious catapult ammunition so early, but given how useless the arrows of the archers were, he knew he had little choice. If they didn't stop the cavalry and the walls of men of with large shields and long polearms quickly, they'd reduce the gates to splinters long before the moon filled the sky and enhanced the waterbender's power.
Once the massive chunks of frozen rubble were launched into the air most of the heavy cavalry tried to move out of their way, but some were nevertheless crushed or knocked down by the rubble, which continued to roll forward and bowl over several of the shield-wall soldiers, leaving holes in the formation. Seeing this, Tonraq ordered all of the archers to aim at those holes before they closed again. To his enormous relief, a swarm of arrows zipped through the air and for the most part found their targets, and at last Steel Empire soldiers began to fall to the arrows as well-aimed ones struck them in the necks and arms.
"It would seem that they possess war machines of their own." Captain Siegfried observed. "Perhaps these 'barbarians' are more resourceful than General Marcus makes them out to be…"
11:45 AM
Mako's silent brooding inside his holding cell was interrupted when the door opened and a metalbending policeman walked up to him.
"You've got a visitor."
Stepping to the side, he allowed Asami to enter, who was overcome with quite a few different emotions upon seeing Mako again, a sentiment he also shared.
"Asami! What are you doing here?"
"I came to visit you, of course." Asami said. "Mako, I know you had nothing to do with what happened to my warehouse. And I wanted you to know that I'm going to prove your innocence and expose Varrick. No matter what it takes."
"Be careful, Asami." Mako warned. "If Varrick or any of his thugs find out…"
"They won't. And besides, I have a friend helping me. Our friend."
Mako smiled as he guessed who Asami meant. "Good to know. Still, promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise" Asami said, walking closer to Mako until they were mere inches apart. She wanted desperately to let him hold her, for them to share some kind of physical contact to comfort and reassure one another, but the prison forbade physical contact with prisoners, so Asami had to leave after one last longing look between them.
12:00 PM
"You better have something for me." Shaobing said darkly as he made his presence known to Gang on an isolated roof-top far from the police headquarters. After recomposing himself following Shaobing's startling him, Gang said: "I've been snooping around, and I wasn't able to find much…but I do think I know who else might be taking jobs for Varrick."
"And who are they?"
"Well, Officer Riley always looks to have a lot of money to flash around for someone on our kind of salary. And Officer Yashi's always looking real suspicious and shifty if you ask me, and Officer Genji…"
"Get to the point, Gang. I'm losing patience fast. I need a serious name. Now."
"All right, all right. Geez. Okay yeah, I got a real good name for ya. Someone I'm certain is crooked. I got proof right here." Gang took out a slip of paper and handed it to Shaobing, who read through it's contents in mere moments.
"You'll never guess who it's talking about."
"Try me."
12:25 PM
It was after discussing some business ideas of Varrick's that Asami decided the time had come to do her part in freeing Mako. Pretending to leave the building, Asami actually planted herself right outside the room Varrick was still in along with his omnipresent assistant. As she kept herself dead silent, she decided to test out a new device that had been gaining some popularity lately: a device that would allow you to record people's voices or radio broadcasts for when you weren't at home. And little did Varrick know, that there was one playing in the room right at that moment.
"Status report, Zhu Li." Varrick ordered.
"Yes sir. Revenue has been coming in at the usual rate, including the profits accumulated from your movers thus far. We're predicting a high gross tonight at the premiere."
"Excellent, excellent. And what about our 'special wares'?"
"Still selling at their usual high rates, sir. The offer to purchase the collection of Hundred Year War contraband still stands. Personally, I think it's rather overpriced."
"Overpriced? There's no such thing. Buy em' all and store em' all."
"Will they be getting stored on your war-ship near the Earth Kingdom, sir?" Varrick's assistant asked in her ususal monotone.
"I told you not to talk about the war-ship, Zhu Li!" Varrick snapped.
"Sorry, sir."
"You never know who might be listening in…"
As Varrick said this Asami's heart quickened as she feared that Varrick knew he was being watched. A part of her wanted to bolt and not risk being caught when she'd already learned so much. But somehow, she convinced herself that Varrick did not know she was there and against her better judgment continued to stay near the door and listen as Varrick continued: "…but seriously, Zhu Li. The way this war's going, I could set myself for life making and selling weapons. And not just for the Water Tribe. Think about what happens if those zealots actually beat the South? They'll go after all the other nations next! Trust me, I know how guys like that think. Enough if never enough. I should know, I think that way myself…anyway! My point is, if they start another Hundred Year War or something like that, I'll be able to get a fortune out of it! I just need to wait till my engineers are finished copying the schematics and designs for the Future Industries stuff we got from Asami's warehouse…"
Hearing that made Asami's blood boil and her free hand clench into a tight fist. She would have clenched the other one too if she didn't have a fragile device in it. The remote trigger to the recording device inside the room. Sweat droplets began to form over her brow as she struggled to keep silent following Varrick's striking a nerve.
"…once we've replicated those mecha-tanks and whatnot, there'll be no end to the list of potential buyers. Everyone from the Earth Kingdom to the URN to the Fire Nation will want a piece of it! Just imagine the profits…"
"Likely quite high, sir." Varrick's assistant remarked.
"Yes indeed. All we have to do is wait for a little while longer. In the meantime, let's enjoy my mover and the profits that'll bring in!"
Asami shook her head in disgust at Varrick's all-consuming greed, and how lining his own pockets seemed to be the only thing he cared about. Perhaps as someone who had always grown up with more money than she could ever spend Asami should have understood Varrick's insane greed, but instead she was just as repulsed by it as anyone else would be. Maybe moreso.
Seeing Varrick and his assistant get up to leave, Asami took that as her cue to leave, making her way down the hall and hiding in another room until she was certain they were both gone. Once they were, Asami went into the room and looked over the recording device. She smiled upon seeing that it had recorded everything Varrick had said.
Time to tell Shaobing what I've learned.
12:55 PM
Lu's shift had at last come to an end, and it was time for the officer to turn in for the evening until the big premiere of Varrick's mover later. Given how much of a madhouse that was destined to be, as many officers as possible would be needed.
Lu sighed as he went back to his apartment and opened the door. Upon walking inside however, the light above him burst, plunging the whole room into darkness. This was followed by the door behind Lu slamming shut with a loud thud. Rushing over to the door, Lu tried to open it only to find that it would not budge.
"What the hell is going on!?" Lu demanded banging on the wooden slab that kept him trapped. "Open the damn door!"
"I like you just were you are, Lu." Shaobing's voice said, Lu's not being able to see him causing his sense of dread to rise all the more as he realized he was not only trapped but at someone else's mercy.
"You've been doing some naughty things, Lu." Shaobing said in a voice that was as cold as it was condescending. "You've been taking jobs from some bad people. And you're going to tell me what I want to know about those bad people."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Lu snapped, but his voice contained fear rather than indignation, which only confirmed what Shaobing already knew.
"Oh but I think you do, Lu. Shaobing said in the same eerily condescending tone. "And you're going to be telling me a few things."
"Go to hell!" Lu snapped.
It was then that Shaobing made his move, striking Lu from behind and in a flury of movements disarmed Lu and put the spines of his hook-swords to his neck.
"Start talking."
"You think you can beat me? I'm a metalbender!"
"Yes, but can you bend before I separate your head from your body?"
"You wouldn't."
"Do you want to risk that? You only have one head to lose."
Lu seemed to consider this for a moment, before lowering his eyes and grumbling: "Damn you."
"That's what I thought. Now how about we have a little talk?"
Lu snarled but nevertheless complied. "Fine, you caught me. I was the one who tipped off the Triads. Helped them rob the Future Industries warehouse, planted evidence in Mako's apartment, everything."
"How did you get into his apartment?"
"Varrick's boys picked the lock, I did the rest. But good luck getting a conviction from anything I've just said."
"Oh I wouldn't be too sure of that." Shaobing replied unfazed. "I've got a friend of my own who knows you're dirty. He'll testify if I tell him to. And again, is that really a risk you want to take? Or do you want this to all just disappear? Because I can guarantee that right now. I can guarantee that you never even get accused."
"And in return, I give you…?"
"Information. What else is Varrick up to, and where can we find his warship?"
"I don't know anything about any warship, but I do know this: Varrick's planning something big tonight during the premiere of that mover of his. 'Nuk-Tuk' or something like that."
"What's Varrick planning exactly?"
"I'm not savvy on the details, but I do know that me and the other cops on his payroll are supposed to make sure it goes smoothly. Namely by letting in some people who, shall we say, don't have tickets."
"Well I think you're going to be missing that shift." Shaobing said before knocking Lu out. "Time to tell Asami what I've learned."
1:00 PM
As the siege continued, the ground had become coated with arrows and the bodies of Steel Empire soldiers as the back rows of soldiers converged on the fort alongside the remnants of the front rows. The armored cavalry and the remaining portions of the shield wall had both long since reached the gates to the fort and were hammering away at it with everything they had, from axes and swords to the claws of the Demi-Gryphs. Water Tribe archers up in the battlements tried to stop them, but the heavy armor and massive shields kept them largely protected. Conversely, the more lightly armored cavalry fell more readily to Water Tribe arrows and continued firing of the catapults.
However, it was also not long after that that the Steel Empire's own war machines at last arrived.
Seeing several catapults be rolled up to the forefront of the Steel Empire's army, Tonraq ordered the catapults to concentrate all their fire on taking out their counterparts. As a vicious catapult exchange ensued, captain Siegfried gave the order to prepare the oil drums.
The next few moments were filled with the sound of catapults on both sides being reduced to piles of splinters as large chunks of rubble smashed into them courtesy of their counterparts. As Tonraq watched each of his people's greatest non-bending defense be destroyed, his only consolation was that the Steel Empire were losing their catapults at the same rate.
But then that consolation was rendered meaningless by what came next.
From one of the last Steel Empire catapults came several drums of oil that upon landing doused the parts of the fort and it's occupants that they struck with thick dark-colored liquid.
Tonraq realized what was coming next too late to stop it. Shouting at his men to fall back, he watched in despair as most of them were too slow to move. And no sooner had the oil drums all been dumped on the Water Tribe forces was the order given down below for the frontmost row of Steel Empire crossbowmen to fire.
"BURN, heretics!"
A volley of flaming arrows sailed through the air in such a way that it was as if the sky itself had been briefly lit ablaze by the dozens of arrows before they came down in a rain of fire, diving straight into the black water awaiting their arrival and causing massive fires to sprout up on impact, sending up a tidal wave of embers in all directions. Water Tribe warriors unfortunate enough to have been doused in the same oil caught fire and were condemned to a truly horrible death. So psychologically damaging as well as physical was the attack, that most of the remaining Water Tribe forces panicked and abandoned their posts, falling back as far as they possibly could in a retreat that was equal parts irrepressible and disorganized. Waterbenders did what they could to douse the flames, but this left many of them unable to deal with the ever-advancing hordes of Steel Empire soldiers, and soon even more of them were at the gates hammering away. There were so many Steel Empire soldiers battering the gates that the pathway was becoming dangerously overcrowded. Not that this helped the fort's defenders much.
As the battle took this disastrous turn and Tonraq did his best to maintain order and cohesion among his forces, he dared to shoot a brief look out at the sun as it seemed to take forever to vanish beneath the horizon in full, amber lights illuminating the carnage on the snow-covered field and inside the fort, as fires from the oils continued to burn.
The night can't come fast enough at this rate.
1:05 PM
"Well, I've got good news and bad news..." Shaobing said as he and Asami met back up again in Mako's apartment as noon turned to early evening.
"What's the good news?"
"That I found our dirty cop. It was Lu, as it turns out. So now we know who framed Mako for Varrick."
"What's the bad news?"
"Well aside from the fact that we still don't have a lot to get Mako exonerated just yet, there's also the fact that Lu says Varrick's not through. Something big is going to be happening at the premiere of that propaganda garbage of his. If Lu's right, I'm thinking we should be there to stop it."
"I agree. As for me, I recorded Varrick today when he was talking to his assistant. Hopefully it and the evidence you've gathered should be enough."
"I promised Lu protection in exchange for what he knew." Shaobing said sadly. "Sorry, Asami, but it was the only way. Whatever he told me would likely not have stood up in court, anyway."
"Well, what I recorded should still be enough. Varrick admits to having stolen from my last warehouse on it."
"Hopefully. You never know whether or not the system will try to cheat you."
"…as for the premiere tonight, somehow I don't think you'll be able to go in costume." Asami joked.
"I'm aware. That's why I'll be keeping out of sight and staying on the look-out for anyone trying to get in 'through the back'. You on the other hand, will blend right in and can look out for anything suspicious in the arena itself."
"Guess I need to dress for the occasion." Asami said with a smile.
4:30 PM
After several more grueling hours of bloody warfare, the Steel Empire forces at last pulled back to lick their wounds, which was good for the beleaguered Water Tribe forces, as they had plenty of their own wounds to lick. So many warriors had been killed by the enemy's iron bolts, oil drums, catapult fire, and the metal shards fired at them by the Metalbenders, that Tonraq feared they no longer had enough men left to adequately defend the fort for when their enemy attacked a second time. And Tonraq could tell from how the Steel Empire forces didn't retreat in full, that they would definitely attack again.
"We can't keep this up forever, you know." Unalaq said to his brother as they both watched healers do what they could for the injured as other men and women buried the dead, and attempts were made to repair some of the damage done to the fort by all the catapult fire.
"I know." Tonraq said.
"Eventually, their superior numbers and weapons will prove to be too much for the fort's defenses. And once the walls and gates fall…"
"By that point help will have arrived." Tonraq said. "Either from Korra, or someone else."
"And what if no help does come?" Unalaq pressed. "What then?"
"Then we get the women and children out through the ice-caves beneath the mountain, and give our lives to cover their escape."
"They won't get far. Those zealots won't let them."
"The only other course of action would be to simply lay down and let them kill us. And that is something I will never do."
It was a few hours later when the battle started up again, but this time the Water Tribe had an extra advantage. For as the sky darkened, the moon appeared to light up the night, and when it did Tonraq and his remaining men all breathed a sigh of relief as the waterbender's power became increased tenfold.
Unleashing their most powerful jets and blasts of water at the ever encroaching Steel Empire warriors, the waterbender's surge of strength allowed them to hose down the armored zealots while also dousing the flames they started with their weapons. Some particularly brave waterbenders even leaped down to the snowy ground, away from the safety of the fort, and immersed themselves fully in the snow they were surrounded by. One waterbender entered the octopus stance, followed swiftly by another. Yet more advanced techniques followed, until soon the Steel Empire forces were driven far back from the gates, no longer able to come close to them without fear of being tossed into the air by water tentacles or a small tidal wave.
"Keep it up!" Tonraq roared over the intense bedlam of the battle. "With the moon on our side, we can drive them off tonight! Don't let them last till morning!"
Heeding Tonraq's orders, more of the enhanced waterbenders jumped down off the safety of the battlements to more directly interact with the field of snow and turn it into a never-ending supply of water to use against the Steel Empire forces, who were driven back further and further. Even the up to that point sturdy shield wall was thrown into disarray by the powerful and chaotic waterbending attacks. Swarms of launched icicle shards followed the merciless flurry of waterbending, with the icicles being fired by the waterbenders with such force they embedded themselves in shields and punched holes in armor and in some cases flesh.
Siegfried cursed under his frozen breath as the enhanced waterbenders continued to pound his army. They hadn't counted on their enemy's water manipulators suddenly becoming so powerful. Certainly Siegfried knew they would be an issue but now they were far worse than before. And no weapon of the Steel Empire's could get past their defenses, as the last of their catapults were either destroyed or out of any viable ammunition.
Then the situation became even worse still.
The icy ground began to crack beneath the two faction's feet, before several glowing dark colored forms burst out from beneath the frozen water, sending it flying everywhere and dousing nearby Steel Empire soldiers in snow and water. Looking up in terror, most of these soldiers were promptly swatted away by the Dark Spirit's attacks, or alternatively pulverized by incredibly powerful strikes from the creatures.
"What in the Gods' names are these things?"
"Monsters! Demons called forth by the heretics! Send them back to the Unclean Prince!"
As the Steel Empire forces now found themselves attacking the Dark Spirits with everything they had, the waterbenders took advantage of their enemy's distraction to attack them even harder than ever, punishing them with more and more powerful waterbending attacks and storms of icicles that cut down Steel Empire troops as well as any arrow ever would.
"Stop!" Unalaq shouted out to the waterbenders down below. "You'll only enrage the Dark Spirits further!"
But by the time Unalaq gave this warning the damage had been done. Several of the Dark Spirits took notice of the waterbenders and zipped towards them with inhuman speed. Soon the waterbenders were being sent flying in all directions by fierce swipes of the Dark Spirit's claws and tendrils.
Swearing loudly as the other Dark Spirits continued to tear through his forces' left flank, Captain Siegfried personally rode in atop his Demi-Gryph and began hacking, slashing, and stabbing at any of the vibrant monsters that was in his way. To his increased frustration, many of them shrugged off his sword strikes or healed from the cuts in an instant. Looking around, Captain Siegfried could see all of his men similarly struggling to do sufficient damage to their monstrous opponents.
"That's it, we can't fight two powerful enemies at once. Retreat! RETREAT! Everyone fall back! This night is not ours to win!"
9:00 PM
The time of the premiere of Varrick's mover was met with a crowd that easily equaled in size any the Pro-Bending championship had ever had. Throngs of people assembled in their best dress to see Varrick's propaganda film, and the streets were so clogged with people that most of them would be lucky to make it in time to see the credits roll.
Asami though, was able to make it in thanks to her relation to Varrick, which she figured was good for something at least. For the occasion she wore a crimson dress that covered her shoulders and chest but left her neck and surrounding area bare. She wore an elegant fur-coat over her dress and long black gloves over her hands and arms. Finally she wore her mother's earrings, which had been bequeathed to Asami for when she was old enough to wear them. There was no need for cosmetics beyond her usual pale purple eye-shadow and masquera, and her ruby red lipstick that she always had on.
As Asami was one of the first to line-up near the entrance to the arena, a limousine-model satomobile drove up, and out of it came Bolin in a nice suit arm-in-arm with his co-star, an older woman with red-orange hair from which she'd gotten the alias "Ginger", and wearing a sky blue and marble dress with long, white gloves.
As Bolin and Ginger walked into the arena, Shiro Shirobi described the scene into a microphone that managed to project his distinctive voice over the insanity and bedlam of the crowd:
"There they are, folks! The sweethearts of the big screen and Republic City's most famous couple, Bolin and Ginger!"
As Bolin and Ginger walked inside the arena to deafening applause, Bolin flashed a massive smile. "Well that was fun, wasn't it? And did you hear what Shirobi said? We're Republic City's most famous couple!"
"Bolin, you're a doll. But we're co-workers, not a couple." Ginger said in a deadpan that reminded Bolin a little too much of Eska, who mercifully did not seem to be anywhere in sight.
The next to step out of the limo and walk down the carpet were President Jishi Tou and his wife, who's apperance was similarly announced by Shiro Shirobi: "President Jishi Tou and First Lady Meili have just arrived. And they're being greeted by entrepreneur extraordinaire and creator and director of the mover, Varrick!"
"There they are! My two most honored guests. What do you think, Mr. President? No expense has been spared. I brought in the finest entertainers from Ba Sing Sae, and the best food around the world! Heck, I even had this red carpet imported from Ember Island. And let me tell you: no one makes red stuff like the Fire Nation!" Varrick chuckled at his own bad joke before announcing: "All right, picture time!"
"Varrick, you didn't have to do all of this for us…"
"Oh but I wanted to. I mean Mr. President, if you don't mind me saying so, when I took just one look at your wife here I knew you were a man of exquisite tastes. And that's why I know you're gonna love this mover!"
"Varrick, I'm not blind. I know what you're doing, and I doubt that your propaganda is going to change my mind about anything. I've already sent General Iroh's forces to the South. That should be more than enough for now."
"Well we'll see, Mr. President. Personally I think once you see how persuasive I can be you'll be sending every last URN soldier and ship down to the South to take down the Steel Empire!"
Watching this, Asami just shook her head in disgust. A part of her wanted to distance herself from Varrick as much as possible, but Asami also knew that she should be keeping an eye on him. So she stayed within eyesight of the duplicitous businessman, as she did realizing with disgust just how similar Varrick was to her father; how both men had manipulated her and people she cared about for their own selfish ends. It was then that Asami grabbed a nearby drink and not caring what it was put it right into her mouth. Such was the bad taste she wanted to wash out.
"Ah, Asami! There you are! I was wondering if you were coming or not. And my, you look absolutely ravishing!"
Varrick took Asami's hand and kissed it, and she in turn had to fight off the strong urge to "accidentally" break his hand.
"Say, since we're pretty much co-owners of Republic City, how about we share a booth for the show? My treat."
Asami knew that was the last thing she wanted at that moment, and was sorely tempted to tell him so. But remembering how she needed to keep an eye on Varrick and that this was the perfect way to do it, Asami suppressed her hatred and anger yet again, and did her best to appear happy and charmed.
"Thanks, Varrick. I'd…like that. But I think I'd rather just be in the booth right next to yours, if that's okay."
"Sure, why not? Whatever works, right?"
Asami breathed a sigh of relief. This way she'd be able to keep an eye on him without feeling like she'd need to shower afterwards. It was just a few moments after that that everyone took their seats in the pro-bending arena, which had been converted into a massive theater just for this one night. Varrick hadn't lied when he'd said he'd spared no expense.
As everyone took their seats, Asami stopped Varrick. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Well, it better be quick, I'm about to give an announcement!"
"Oh, don't worry, it's quick: how much are you worth?"
Varrick blinked and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"How much money are you worth, Varrick?" Asami asked in a tone that struggled to stay even and neutral.
"...to be honest, I have not the faintest idea. Why? You want a donation?"
"No, no I'm just curious. How much are you worth? Over ten million yuans?"
Varrick broke into a grin. "Oh my, yes!"
"Well then why do you do everything you do?" Asami asked, nearly failing to keep the anger out of her tone. "How much better can you eat? What can you possibly buy that you can't already buy?"
"Why, the future, Asami, my dear. And that's exactly what I'm going to be doing tonight. Just you watch!"
And so, Asami reluctantly took her seat, as Varrick meanwhile took the announcer's microphone and addressed the crowd: "Thank you all for coming to the grand premiere of 'Nuk-Tuk, Hero of the South!' You know, when I first started this project there were a lot of naysayers out there. 'You can't make pictures move' they said. 'You can't take some knucklehead earthbender and make him a star', they said. 'You can't teach an animal to speak', they said. Well they were wrong on all three counts! Thanks to the magic of the movers, our furry friends have found their voices, and you'll be shocked to hear what they have to say! They and our stars speak of the injustice that is happening in the Southern Water Tribe right now. My hope, is that their words, and this epic mover, will inspire a real life hero to continue lending his support, and never stop fighting for the little guys down South!" As Varrick finished the arena gave the predicted response while Asami just sat there shaking her head. All the while she kept her green eyes fixed on Varrick, and wishing that they could just bore holes into him.
"Thank you, thank you. And so without further adieu, we begin the show! Enjoy!"
As the Mover began in earnest, Asami tuned it out and instead kept her eyes fixed squarely on Varrick as he returned to his booth. Varrick for his part seemed content to admire his handiwork, and even seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. But of course by this point, Asami knew that "genuine" was not a word that could be used to accurately describe Varrick.
As for President Jishi Tou, he found himself less than amused by what he saw, particularly when he made a surprise guest appearance…
"Ah, Nuk-Tuk! I'm glad you've come to Republic City! You'll be happy to know that I have just had my best doctors create a new cure for the common cold."
"That's really great of you, sir." Nuk-Tuk replied.
"Yes indeed. If there's one thing I love to do, it's helping people"
"You know personally, I think that's a spot-on depiction of you, honey." Jishi Tou's wife said.
"The dialogue lacks subtlety." Jishi Tou complained. "You can't just have the characters announce how they feel. It makes me feel angry!"
9:35 PM
Asami left the show for but a moment when she noticed that the mover's own star was nowhere to be seen. Going out looking for him, she saw him looking out at the water overlooking Republic City.
"Bolin, are you okay?"
Upon hearing Asami's voice, Bolin turned around and jumped back a bit as he saw Asami facing him.
"Asami! Wow, I wasn't expecting to see you here. You look great."
"Thanks, Bolin. Yeah, I came. And I think this mover of yours is the best." In truth, Asami hadn't been paying all that much attention to the mover, and what little she had taken notice of was far from high art. But she wanted to cheer her friend up as she saw the sad look on his face.
"I just wish Mako was here to see it…"
"So do I, Bolin. That's why I've been trying to get him freed."
"You have? How?"
"By helping Shaobing expose Varrick, and prove that he and his thugs set Mako up."
"And that's why you're here, isn't it?" Bolin asked, catching on. "To keep an eye on Varrick?"
Asami nodded. "Sorry if you're offended, Bolin…"
"Are you kidding? I think that's kind of awesome, actually. You're like some kind of spy now!"
Asami giggled. Bolin always brought a smile to her face, and she found that it was great that her boyfriend's brother was a person as nice and funny as Bolin was. Between him and Korra, and even Shaobing, she really was lucky as far as her friends went.
"Anyway..." Bolin said. "...we should probably go back inside. Say, you want to sit next to the star?"
Asami smiled. "I'd like that a lot."
9:40 PM
As a good percentage of Republic City's population filed into the arena to watch Varrick's mover, Shaobing took advantage of the hubbub to quietly make his way around the back, traversing the nearby buildings and roof-tops and keeping an eye out for the other corrupt cops on Varrick's payroll, as well as anyone else who looked to be snooping around.
Finally, after about forty minutes into the mover, a boat filled with men appeared and made it's way under the arena. Knowing immediately that this was what Lu had been referring to, Shaobing made his way to the arena entrance nearest to where the boat's occupants were going. After knocking out the guards with some well-aimed darts, Shaobing went down the halls and stairs until he could hear the approaching footsteps of his quarry. Then he heard some considerably louder sounds as the men took down the police stationed there.
Taking cover behind a dark corner, Shaobing could see over half a dozen armed men making their way down the hall. Shaobing waited until they had all walked past him before grabbing the one farthest behind and silently knocking him out. Turning around the corner he downed another one with another of his darts.
By this point the other five men knew they were under attack, and one gave the order for the other four to complete the mission while he dealt with the attacker.
"Show yourself, coward!"
"If you insist."
Striking out of the cover of the shadows, Shaobing tripped his opponent with one sweep of his chained hook swords. The man made a counterattack that reeked of desperation, and Shaobing easily caught the sword blade in-between the hooks of his own weapons. One disarming move later and then a kick to the man's face, and Shaobing was victorious. But by that point the other four had already reached their target.
Jishi Tou and his wife's mover experience then got the worst kind of interruption as blades pressed against their necks.
"Scream and you lose your heads. Get up and come with us."
Jishi Tou and his wife were all set to comply with their kidnappers before a bola sailed through the air and wrapped itself around one of the goon's arms. Shaobing then burst through the door hook swords drawn.
Three of the men readied their swords while another waterbended at Shaobing. Shaobing jumped out of the way of the water-whip and zipped towards his opponents while the group's leader called back his water-whip. A leaping kick to the thug's face followed by several other punishing blows sent the man flying out of the president's booth and right into the water below.
Needless to say, the sight of a man going flying and then taking a dip caught the attention of everyone in the arena, all of whom turned to the president's booth and saw Shaobing engaged in a sword-fight with no less than three opponents.
"Sure would be nice to have some help right about now…"
As Shaobing said this, the earth beneath his opponents was launched upwards, slamming them all into the ceiling and causing them to collapse and drop their swords. As they fell, Shaobing could see that Bolin had jumped down from his higher booth, and was now standing triumphant over the defeated thugs.
"Perfect timing as usual, my masked friend." Bolin said with a grin, as well as the best "hero" voice he could manage. Shaobing shook his head and moved in to tie up the defeated thugs before a slab of rock struck him in the back and knocked him down.
"Dammit!"
Standing in the doorway now were some Triads, who Shaobing guessed where also there on Varrick's behalf and from the looks of it veterans with the organization. Forcing himself up, Shaobing wasn't able to dodge the next elemental attack that came his way in time, and was knocked back some more. Bolin fired out some pieces of rubble at the triads to force them back, and then put himself in-between them and the president.
"Get behind me, Mr. President. Shaobing and I can handle these guys."
The Triads launched another wave of attacks, and Bolin created an earth shield to protect himself and the president.
"This isn't working, we need more room to maneuver. Might I suggest we have a change of scenery?"
Catching on to what Shaobing meant, Bolin used his earthbending to launch the triads forward and then grabbed one as Shaobing grabbed the other two. They then threw the three thugs out of the booth and onto the ramp leading to the pro-bending ring.
"Wow…you and me fighting together in the pro-bending ring!? This is a dream come true." Bolin breathed as he and Shaobing jumped down onto the ramp and forced the Triads back into the ring itself.
Once they caught onto the fact that there was now plenty of water and earth for them to use, the three Triads became reinvigorated, and unleashed a new wave of punishing elemental attacks that Bolin and Shaobing did their best to avoid.
"On second thought maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." Shaobing confessed.
"Are you kidding? This is awesome!"
Shaobing sighed deeply as he and Bolin continued to avoid the attacks, all the while Varrick's mover continuing to play and filling the background with noise Shaobing did his best to tune out.
I think I prefer the Red Monsoon thug's chanting...
Earth-Discs fired from Bolin at last managed to knock the earthbending triad down on his back, as the firebending one leaped into the air and brought his foot down to send up a wave of fire in all directions, which managed to force Bolin and Shaobing back. Then the three armed thugs from before leaped down and rushed into the ring as well.
"Terrific. Bolin, deal with the benders, I'll handle the swordsmen!"
As Shaobing rushed in and again clashed blades with the sword-wielding thugs, Bolin continued to dodge blasts of fire and water sent his way by his triad opponents. A surprise jet of water from one of the triads sent Bolin tumbling across the ring before he was able to regain his footing and bolt to one side as more attacks came his way.
"Bolin, look out!" Ginger cried in the stands as ironically her character in the mover said almost the exact same line. By this point, Bolin had slammed his fists into the ground to conjure up two entire stacks of earth discs that he then launched at his triad opponents in a rapid-fire assault of rubble.
"This is unbelievable!" Shiro Shirobi declared. "Bolin is bending two full stacks of earth discs at once, which would normally be illegal, but then again, it's three against one plus a sword-fight thrown in, so all rules are out the window!"
Bolin's merciless barrage forced the two triads back more and more until finally the firebender triad's defenses gave way and an earth-disc to the chest knocked him down. That just left the waterbending triad, who struck out with snaking jets of water that Bolin leaped out of the way of, as he continued to unleash a volley of earth discs at his opponent. Coincidentally, at the same time in the Mover, Bolin's character of Nuk-Tuk was hitting Steel Empire goons with his bare fists as well as waterbending. Apparently, each successful impact caused a stylized speech bubble of "bang", "pow", "biff", or "bam". And Bolin for his part felt compelled to shout out these same sound effects as he continued his earthbending pummeling.
Finally, one last earth-disc managed to ricochet and strike the waterbending triad square in the jaw. And by this point, Shaobing had long since taken down the last of his opponents, the three of them no match for him in a wide-open environment.
"It's a knockout!" Shirobi declared happily as the crowd burst into deafening applause.
"Nicely done, old chum!" Bolin said, slapping Shaobing on the back as he did.
"...please don't call me that." Shaobing said in a deadpan before noticing that one of the defeated Triads was trying to slip away. Swooping down on him and lifting him up with one hand, Shaobing demanded to know who had sent him and his friends. The threatening snarl in his tone told the man he'd best not lie, and so he spilled the beans without a moment's hesitation.
"It was Varrick! Varrick hired us! Please don't hurt me!"
No sooner had the man said this did all eyes in the arena turn to face Varrick, whose face went bright red before being flushed of all color as he found himself exposed for all of Republic City to see.
"…I think this is our cue to exit..." Varrick said to his assistant as they both got up and attempted to make a discreet getaway. They didn't get far.
"Where do you think you're going?" Lin Bei-Fong demanded, stepping forward to block Varrick and his assistant's escape as the Metalbending police led by Chief Saikhan made their way to Varrick's booth. But it was Asami who arrived first, her green eyes ready to go through Varrick like arrows to the heart.
"Oh! Uh, hey, Asami…" Varrick said as he saw Asami advance threateningly towards him. "…my this is certainly awkw—"
Asami cut Varrick off by punching him in the face as hard as she could, the force of her blow knocking him backwards and flat on his back as he clutched his now broken nose.
"That was for Mako and Future Industries." Asami snarled.
As Varrick lied on his back in a daze as blood continued to come out of his nose, he asked weakly: "So…no hard feelings I hope?"
9:50 PM
"Varrick's plan was to kidnap you, and blame it on the Steel Empire." Lin explained to President Jishi Tou as Varrick was led away. "…then he'd never have to ask your permission for military support ever again, and he'd have the entire city spoiling for a fight to boot."
"I can't believe Varrick would do something like this, even after I lent my support."
"I'm sure he would have found some other use for you." Chief Saikhan said. "Ransoming can be a fast way to make money, after all."
"And to think no one saw this coming…"
"Actually someone did..." Chief Saikhan noted. "...and I put him in a jail cell for it."
"Then I think it's time we tell him he's clear." Lin suggested. Meanwhile, Bolin's having to deal with the incessant flashing bulbs blinding him was made much more tolerable when Ginger ran up and hugged him.
"I can't believe my boyfriend is a real life hero!"
"Gee tha—wait, what?"
Ginger kissed Bolin on the lips, and when she did Bolin realized it had been far too long since he'd kissed another woman. And so he kissed her back.
"Yeah, boyfriend, let's go with that...didn't say you we weren't a couple though?"
"Ah, you really can be as dumb as those rocks. Of course we're a couple!" Ginger kissed Bolin again, and he put his hands around her waist. As this was happening, Asami said: "Bolin, you and Shaobing saved the president! And I've got proof that Varrick stole from me. Not to mention that Mako's been cleared now. We need to go to the police station right away."
Bolin nodded before turning to Ginger. "Hang tight, babe. Nuk-Tuk's got one last heroic feat to perform tonight."
10:03 PM
Mako turned to face the door to his cell as he heard it unlock. The first one in was Bolin, who enveloped him in a hug.
"Good news, Mako! I saved the President! In real life! And Shaobing was there, too!"
"...wait, what?"
"You were right about Varrick. He tried to kidnap the President and he even got some Triads to help! But it didn't work because the Dynamic Duo of Nuk-Tuk and Shaobing was there to save the day!"
Mako smiled and shook his head at his brother's statement before realizing that if Bolin was there…
"Where's Asami?" Mako asked anxiously.
"Waiting for you outside." Bolin said with a smile. "Go get her."
Needing no other invitation, Mako raced out of his cell and ran down the hall until he saw her waiting for him in the lobby area, and still dressed up in the outfit she wore for the mover no less. Seeing Asami there waiting for him, and looking as glamorous as ever, coupled with his freedom, left Mako in a daze. Praying that it wasn't a dream, Mako ran up to Asami and embraced her tightly. The two kissed each-other passionately to applause and shouts of approval from the watching officers.
"Asami, I'm free…it's so good to see you again."
"Don't worry, Mako" Asami whispered. "Varrick's in jail now. Not to mention that Shaobing and I got enough evidence to prove that he was the one who stole from me, along with a bunch of other stuff besides. There's enough to bury him forever."
"Good." Mako said. "I hope he loses every coin he owns." Then, continuing to hug Asami tightly. "I love you so much. Thank you for clearing my name."
"I was never going to let you rot in here, Mako..." Asami said before smiling. "...who else could I go out to dinner with?"
Mako laughed at this and kissed Asami lightly on the lips as he continued to hold her tightly. "So what now?" He asked, lifting her chin to get an even better look at her face.
"Well, it's night time, and I am still in one of my best outfits…you want to go on to that dinner at Kuang's that I owe you?"
"Asami, after this you owe me absolutely nothing. Having said that…" Mako smiled and pulled Asami in. "...I would love to."
And then Mako kissed Asami as hard as he could to the roaring approval of everyone watching.
10:15 PM
"That was blatant insubordination!" General Marcus roared, spit flying out of his mouth as he did. "I ordered you to press forward with the attack and wipe out the last of those infidels and instead you turned tail! I am a hair's breadth away from delivering swift and brutal punishment!"
"General, we had no choice. Their water-manipulators power was increased when it became nighttime. Then monsters attacked our left flank and left us in disarray, which in turn made it that much easier for our enhanced enemies to overwhelm us."
"Monsters?"
"Yes. Fiends the likes of which I've never seen before. Like some kind of abominations from the Unclean Prince's darkest dungeons. Whatever they were, they were varied, numerous, and incredibly dangerous. Not to mention very resistant to harm. Had I not ordered a retreat we would have all been killed."
"Were these creatures attacking the Water Tribe forces as well as your men?" General Marcus asked.
"Yes."
"Then you should have pressed forward with the attack! Between your forces and these creatures, we would have annihilated the heretics. They would have all fallen beneath sword, spear, and these monster's claws."
"And how many of our men would have died along with them?" Siegfried pressed.
"Come now, Captain. We are the god's warriors. We don't shy away from the risk of death in battle. We embrace it. Don't tell me you're forgetting our people's ways."
"No, general. But I was not prepared to throw away men's lives needlessly."
General Marcus scoffed. "An idealist, eh? Oh, you'll learn, Captain. You'll learn..."
Author's Note: And there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, which incidentally turned out far longer than I thought it would. Regardless, I know I for one enjoyed not seeing Mako get back with Korra and also lie through his teeth to her. God was that unsatisfying in the show proper.
Bonus points to anyone who correctly guesses all of the different references that are in this chapter.
In any event, this is going to be the last chapter taking place in good old Republic City for a while now. And the next few chapters will also be introducing yet another new nation. Stay tuned!