~Chapter 53~
Sokka ran through the halls desperately trying to find Iroh. "You'd think I'd be more helpful in where I'm supposed to go." He paused for a moment to catch his breath and then hear the strangled cry of a man. "Never mind! I see why now."
Sokka headed down a hall but was over taken by one of the Kyoshi warriors. He caught a glimpse of Lafey as she turned the corner. He was stuck by how she looked a little like Suki. Sokka heard another strangled cry and saw a flash of light in a distant hall. When he got to the point of origin he almost ran into Lafey who had stopped dead in her tracks. Sokka looked to where she was looking.
The hallway was covered in ice and Iroh was kneeling at the end of it, bleeding. His left eye look like it had been gouged out and there were cuts on his arms. A spectral form rose from the ice and created a blade with its' arm. It seemed to be talking but Sokka couldn't hear it.
Iroh hung his head. "I can't, I won't! Snow why are you tormenting me?" The general shuttered as if trying to hold back a sob. "I won't fight you snow! I'm sorry I couldn't save you!"
YOU REPLACED ME! ME? A FORCE OF NATURE! A SNOW STORM!
Suddenly a real snowstorm started to kick up in the hallway.
I'LL BURY YOU! AND THEN I'LL MAKE SURE NO ON EVER FINDS YOU AND ANYONE YOU EVER CARED ABOUT! I-
The specter suddenly stopped as blast of fire had taken off the iceman's head and icicles impaled his body. Sokka looked over at Lafay who was moving out of her stance. She walked over to Iroh and held out her hand.
"Where's the Avatar?" Lafey asked her voice icy.
"In a lower level, I was trying to reach her when I ran into…. what ever that was." Iroh stood up but looked to be on shaky legs. "We need to find her…."
"No, you need to go back to the ship." Lafey's face was stern. "Sokka! Help Iroh back to the ship, I'll go find the avatar."
"No I need to-" Iroh began to protest but was cut off by Lafey.
"You've already failed here Compass! Go back to the ship that is an order! I'll find Korra and bring her back but you're a liability and you need medical attention to boot!"
Iroh opened his mouth but closed it clearly defeated. Sokka helped Iroh back to the ship. He chanced a look at Iroh's face only to see a man who looked utterly defeated. Sokka bit his lip.
"So who was that?" He asked at last.
Iroh sighed. "His name was Tarkem, code name Snow Strom, he was my partner while in K Company and I failed him a long time ago…and I replaced him."
Sokka didn't ask for clarification. He didn't want it. For the rest of the walk back to the boat the two walked in silence. Once they got there Sokka was relieved to see most of the people waiting save Korra and Lafey.
.o.
Lafey climbed her way down to the bottom level. She had spotted a blue light and was trying to reach it figuring weird glowing usually meant avatar. Lafey walked into a large room where Korra lay curled up with a book in her arms and a lantern burning with blue flames by her head.
Lafey noticed that her hair seemed to by styled differently then before. She gently shook Korra expected her to startle but instead Korra sat up calmly.
"Lafey?" Korra 'looked' in Lafey's direction. "Is that you?"
Lafey smiled. "Yeah, it's me. Let's get out of here."
Korra stood up. "Yeah, I've got the journal, I hope." She picked up the lantern and held it out to Lafey. "Here, this will keep the spirits away as we get back to the rest."
Lafey took it. "Neat, how did you find this?"
"I didn't I was lent it by a Lantern Bearer. It's for protection but we've got to leave it at the entrance or she'll go after us."
Lafey took Korra's hand. "Well I definitely don't want that. Come on, I don't want to be in this place any longer then I have to be."
Korra nodded and fallowed her lead until they were nearing the entrance. "Uh, Lafey where's Iroh? Is he ok?"
"He's a bit banged up physically and emotionally, but I'll take care of the physical stuff when we get back on the ship. The emotional is your prerogative."
Korra pouted. "I can heal him physically too."
"Yeah…but I can see his injuries and I think his glass eye got shattered so I'm more qualified to take care of him. You might be his wife but I'm his sister."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Means, I get to take care of him too."
There was a moment of tension between the two women before Korra relented. "Fine you heal his injuries, but only because you can see the glass shards and heal it better than I can."
.o.
Travel back to the place was quite. Everyone seemed to be banged up at least a little. There was a little small talk between some of them but most were quiet. Some how all of them ended up at the palace. Iroh waved off the guards as he made his way to his apartments. There everyone sat around in the formal lounge not saying anything.
"Well that could have gone better." Ringling said at last. He pointed to a mini bar. "May I?"
Iroh nodded. "Nock yourself out. There's your favorite bourbon in the lower cabinet.
Ringling smiled. "You spoil me."
Iroh shook his head and looked at the old book now sitting in the middle of the table. He wondered whether it had been worth it. He jumped a little when someone set their hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, it's just me." Lafey assured him. "Let's go into the bathroom so I can check to make sure I healed everything right."
Korra nodded. "Yeah, go babe. I'll take care of everyone here."
Giving Korra a quick peck on the cheek, Iroh fallowed Lafey in to another room. He pulled out the first aid kit.
"Do you have any spare glass eyes?" Lafey asked looking through the supplies.
"Yeah, somewhere but that whole area is feeling swollen."
"Well it damn well should!" Lafey put her hands on her hips. "You let someone sent an icicle at your face. You're lucky it took out the face eye!"
"Don't yell Fey." Iroh looked away he didn't want to deal with this right now.
"I can yell if I want to! You almost got yourself killed! Do you know how mush that would have destroyed me? Let's not talk about all the other people who'd be affected even though that's a hefty list too. No! Just me! Iroh! You're the only family I have left! You're my brother, practically my twin, and in that room you gave up! You were going to let that thing kill you!"
"It was Snowstorm. I couldn't. I-"
"That wasn't Snowstorm! And if it was it sure as hell wasn't the same man you loved all those years ago! He would have wanted you go move on."
"And I thought I did!" Iroh got to his feet. "But to see him and hear him again?" Iroh's voice began to crack. "It was like all that hurt came rushing back, all that over whelming failure to save him came rushing back!" He stifled a sob. "You don't know how much pain that caused."
Lafay's face softened. "No, I don't. Not exactly, but what I do know is how scared I was when I thought you were going to die again. Like I said you're the only family I have left and I can't loose you. Iroh I know that black day scarred us all, there's no way it couldn't, but we have to move past the loss. You have a whole different life now, you have Korra who you love more than anything else in this world am I right?"
Iroh nodded. "Yeah, as always Fey you are."
Fey nodded. "Good, now get over here so I can finished plucking glass out of your face."
Iroh walked over. "What would I do without you Fey?"
"Be a very lonely only child with glass in his eye socket…. you'd still have a hot wife though. You two were made for each other."
Iroh was silent as Lafey worked and only spoke up when she was done wrapping up the side of his face. "Thanks Fey, for everything. You've always got my back."
"Of course I do." Lafey smiled. "You're my brother and," She tapped her prosthetic leg, "you've always had my back. I know I don't say this near often enough but I do love you bro."
"I love you too sis." Iroh hugged Lafey for a brief moment before stepping back. "So I guess I need to find a way to sneak you guys out before Mother figures out who exactly you guys are."
Lafey crossed her arms. "You can try with the other guys but you're not getting rid of me. You need me to keep your ass in check. I'm coming with."
Iroh sighed. "Fey, you can't come."
"Like hell! I'm coming and if you have a problem with that tough." She looked at him and tiled her head. "Why are you chuckling?"
"Because you haven't changed a bit sis."
"Well you haven't either. You're still getting in to trouble and needing me to keep you safe. Now let's get back to everyone before they start coming up with reasons for us taking so long."
"Yeah…I don't need a resurgence of the incest jokes from long ago." Iroh started to walk of to the room. "Uh…Fey I do have one question. Who did Korra's hair?"
A/N: and we're finally out of the prison! Yay! Back to the main plot in the next chapter but I just wanted to end this one establishing Iroh and Lafey's bond a little more. There are definably some shades of Katara and Sokka in their sibling relationship but I think that just shows they're all related. Question? Comment? Angry rants on the delay between chapters? Feel free to leave a review in the convenient box below. See you all later! ~C.C.
