Chapter 86

Ronen arrived home around ten o'clock in the evening, after a long day of work at Future Industries – where he was an official employee these days – and was dismayed but not all that surprised to find that his family was once again in disarray. Yunjin wasn't eating, Mom had had a breakdown and left, Dad was panicking, and Sora was crying. Jeia was nowhere to be found, but Ronen had a feeling she was probably with Aunt Kya, so he'd find her later. First, he got the story from his father, which wasn't all that detailed but clued him in enough to figure out what was going on. Apparently Lin had gone to try and convince Yunjin to finally eat, after everyone else had failed, but she had ended up shouting and throwing the food across Yunjin's room, and then stormed out to who knows where. Tenzin wanted to go looking for Lin, worried she'd do something foolish in her current state, but Ronen thought his mother probably needed to blow off steam and it was best to leave her alone. Tenzin was also worried about Yunjin, but the boy was still laying in bed pretending to sleep so Ronen ushered Tenzin out of the room, urging him to make a new bowl of soup for Yunjin and some tea.

Ronen cleaned the mess his mother had made, and then left the new food and a cup of tea on Yunjin's bedside table. He touched his brother's shoulder and quietly said, "I know you don't want to, but please do me a favor and eat something. If you can't muster up the strength to do it for yourself, at least do it for Mom and Dad." Then Ronen left Yunjin's room, hopeful that his brother might eat once he was left alone.

Ronen went to Sora next, and asked her to help him find something he didn't actually need. He told her about the charity function he was going to with Asami in a few days, and that he needed help picking the right outfit to wear. Sora might have seen right through Ronen's efforts to distract her, but she went to scavenge through his closet anyways. That would keep her busy and focused for a while, so Ronen went and found his father.

Tenzin was sitting in a corner of the kitchen, hunched over the table with his head in his hands. Ronen went over and squeezed his father's shoulder as he said, "It's going to be okay."

With his head resting in one hand, Tenzin reached up with the other to pat Ronen's hand and wearily say, "I'm sorry to put so much of this on you."

"You're not," Ronen insisted. "We're a family. We need each other. And right now, you need to rest."

"I can't," Tenzin refuted with a shake of his head. "I need to –"

"I'll find Mom," Ronen interjected. "And I'll look after Jin and Sora. You need to sleep."

"Later," Tenzin said. "Jeia –"

"I'll find her too," Ronen cut him off again. "I'm serious. You can't be any help if you keel over from exhaustion. Sleep now. I'll wake you if anything happens."

Tenzin protested a bit more, but eventually caved to Ronen's reasoning. He was too exhausted to fight it.

When Ronen went in search of Jeia, he found her where he had expected, sitting in the dining hall with Aunt Kya, Nira, and Amali. Dinner was long over, but people often lingered there or returned to chat, or to play cards or Pai Sho. Nobody that knew Jeia well enough wanted to play cards with her, because her eidetic memory pretty much ensured her a win, but Pai Sho involved more strategy, and while before Jeia had little to no interest in the game, she seemed to like the challenge as she grew older. She liked even more to be a show off, and had been teaching Amali how to play so that she could present her skills to someone new. The two girls sat across from each other at one of the benches, the game board between them, and Nira and Kya to either side. Nira sat next to Amali and Kya next to Jeia, and the two women were playing their own game of cards, except Nira was winning by a lot and Kya was accusing her of cheating, and they were laughing as they fought over one of the cards in the deck, which looked more like an excuse to hold hands. It made Ronen smile a little, happy for his aunt and his caregiver even though both of them were still denying that anything was going on between them.

As Ronen approached the table, Kya released Nira's hand and the card to hold her arm out and gesture for him to sit next to her. "Hi, sweetheart," she said brightly, smiling even though it didn't quite reach her eyes. Everyone was having trouble looking at him and his family these days without pity or sorrow. "How are you?"

Ronen sat down on the bench and his aunt squeezed him against her side. "I'm all right," he replied. "You haven't seen Mom anywhere this evening, have you?"

Kya's brow furrowed in confusion. "No, I haven't. Why? Is she not at home?"

"She left apparently," Ronen revealed, and Jeia turned away from her game to finally look at him. "I figure she just needed some space, but I thought I'd ask around."

"Would you like us to look for her?" Nira offered. "She probably hasn't gone far."

"No, that's okay," Ronen said with a small smile of appreciation. "I'm sure she'll come back."

"Is your father worried?" Kya asked.

Ronen nodded. "Yeah, but I think I convinced him to calm down a little. Hopefully he's sleeping now."

"Well is there anything we can do?" Nira questioned.

"We can deal you in if you're just looking for a distraction," Kya said, waving the cards in her hands.

"I should probably be getting back," Ronen admitted. "I wanted to check in on Jeia." He looked around his aunt to where his sister was watching him, realizing only then that he hadn't seen her in several days. He asked her, "Are you doing all right?"

Jeia shrugged and said shortly, "I'm fine. Is Jin gonna be better soon?"

"I hope so," Ronen said quietly, his stomach twisting into knots.

Jeia stared at her older brother for another moment and then looked away, refocusing on her game of Pai Sho.

Kya squeezed Ronen again and murmured, "We're taking good care of her."

Ronen nodded but he continued to watch Jeia for a few more minutes, wondering if he should add her to his mountain of worries, wondering if he ought to be looking out for her more. It was easy, sometimes, to forget that she needed emotional support too, because she was always so good at speaking her mind and avoiding whatever made her upset. But they had thought that about Yunjin too, and now he was an emotional wreck that they couldn't figure out how to mend. Jin and Jeia were different though. They shared the Beifong temperament and they were both abrasive, but that was where the likeness stopped. Jeia was more like Ronen when it came to challenges, level-headed and calculating. He had a feeling she understood well enough the issues at home to not take it personally that everyone's attention was all over the place. Ronen believed that Jeia would be just fine, though he did feel some guilt over not being as readily available to her as he probably could have been. He was grateful that his Aunt Kya and Nira were looking out for her.

"Thank you," Ronen said to the two of them, these two women that had been so crucial to his upbringing. Kya hadn't always been there, not as much as Nira, but she had made every minute count, and he loved them both. "I'll be back for that card game another time."

Aunt Kya reached out as he was rising back to his feet, gripping his hand and urging, "If you need us –"

"I know," Ronen assured, squeezing her hand gratefully.

"Let us know if your mother doesn't come back soon," Nira added, and he could see the worry in her eyes.

"I will," Ronen promised. He took a step around his aunt Kya to lightly grip Jeia's shoulders, and leaned down to kiss his little sister on the cheek. She made a face, wrinkling her nose in annoyance, but patted his hand affectionately.

Ronen smiled for the briefest of moments, and then left the dining hall to return home. He was glad to find his father still asleep and Sora still distracting herself sorting through clothes. He decided not to disturb Yunjin for a bit longer, and talked to Sora instead, telling her about work and trying on the clothes she tossed at him. It kept both their minds off of everything for just a little while.

It was a little after midnight when the phone rang, and considering the late hour, Ronen's stomach rose into his throat. Sora stilled with mounting worry on her face, but despite his own concerns, Ronen reassured her, "I'm sure it's just Mom calling to tell us why she's so late."

He hastily went to answer the phone, and his chest seized up too when he heard, "Ronen, this is Chief Tosuki. Is your father there?"

"He's asleep," Ronen answered. "What's this about, Chief?"

There was a pause, and then Tosuki revealed, "It's about your mother."

"What about her?" Ronen shakily questioned. "Is she hurt? What's happened? Where is she?"

"No, no, she's not hurt," Tosuki quickly cut in. "She's all right, but… she was arrested this evening, along with your Uncle Bumi. I'm sorry, kid, I don't mean to worry you. You might want to wake your father. I'm not going to hold her for the night, but someone ought to come get the pair of them. They're still pretty drunk."

"I'll come get them," Ronen decided, shaking off the shock rushing through him. "I can be there in fifteen minutes."

"It really should be your father…" Tosuki said slowly. "I don't think you want to –"

"I've grown up a lot since you last saw me, Chief," Ronen cut Tosuki off. "My father needs his rest so I'll be coming in his stead. I appreciate you calling. Who should I speak to about retrieving them when I arrive at headquarters?"

"Uh, just come to the main desk," Tosuki advised. "I'll let them know you're coming."

"Can I ask what they were arrested for?" Ronen inquired.

"I'll explain when you get here," was all that Tosuki gave as a response.

Not entirely less worried, but relieved his mother apparently hadn't been harmed, Ronen inhaled with relief. He hung up the phone and then picked it right back up, dialing a familiar number and crossing his fingers that the right person would pick up.

"Who's this?" an exasperated voice answered. "D'you know what time it is?"

"Tu," Ronen said quickly, easily recognizing the haughty cadence of Mako and Bolin's cousin who, along with the rest of the two brothers' long lost family from Ba Sing Se, was living in Asami's mansion following the destruction of their home during the Red Lotus takeover that had resulted in the death of the Queen. "This is Ronen. Is Asami around?"

"Oh, it's you," Tu snorted. "Don't you two ever get enough of each other? Weren't you just here this morning?"

"Tu, this is really important," Ronen said impatiently. "I need you to get Asami for me. Please."

"I think you two need to set some boundaries," Tu rambled on. "Listen, buddy, I want to give you some advice on how to keep a lady –"

"Tu," Ronen huffed in frustration, "I'm serious –"

"So am I!" Tu interrupted. "I don't want you getting your heart broken. Ya need to think about – oh, hey Asami, it's like I was just telling Ronen here, the two of you should really – hey!"

Tu's voice cut off with a commotion on his end of the line, and Ronen tapped his fingers on the counter until he finally heard Asami saying, "Ronen? Is that you? What's wrong?"

"Asami," Ronen sighed in relief, "I'm sorry to call so late, but can you meet me at the docks in ten minutes? I need to get to police headquarters, and there's something I may need your help with."

"Of course," Asami agreed. "What's this about?"

"It's my mom and Uncle Bumi," Ronen explained briefly. "I'll tell you the rest when I see you."

When Ronen put the phone down and turned around, he found Sora hovering in the doorway, looking half petrified.

"What happened?" she asked tremulously.

"Every thing is okay," Ronen quickly assured her. "I just have to go pick up Mom and Uncle Bumi."

"Why are they at police headquarters?" Sora demanded.

Ronen hesitated, but eventually admitted, "They got arrested, and apparently they're drunk, but Tosuki says they're okay and I don't want Dad to worry. If he wakes up before I get back, I need you to cover for me."

Sora frowned and her shoulders slumped. "But, Ronen, you know I can't lie to him."

"I don't need you to lie, exactly," Ronen said. "Just tell him that I found Mom and took her to Asami's. We'll leave out the part about her being drunk and arrested."

"That's basically a lie," Sora stressed. "He'll see right through me."

"He may not even wake up," Ronen reasoned, going over to squeeze Sora's shoulders reassuringly. "And I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I want to go with you," Sora decided. "I want to make sure Mom is okay."

"How about I call you when I get to Asami's?" Ronen offered. "Someone ought to stay here with Dad and Yunjin."

Sora sighed. "Fine, but be quick. Tell Mom I love her."

"I will. Don't worry, okay?"

"Too late," Sora murmured.

Ronen hugged her and she clung to him for a long moment.

Once Sora released him, Ronen donned a coat and shoes and hurried out.

Asami was waiting for him at the docks in Republic City, leaning against her car. When she saw him disembarking from his ship, she rushed over to greet him, asking what had happened. He told her what little he knew, and they climbed into her car together to make the short trip to police headquarters. They waited at the front desk for several minutes until Chief Tosuki arrived to greet them.

"You weren't lying, kid," Tosuki said as he looked Ronen over with a flicker of surprise. "You have grown since I saw you last."

Ronen inclined his head respectfully and said, "Chief. It's good to see you." Then he gestured to Asami. "You might know Asami Sato, owner of Future Industries."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Chief Tosuki," Asami greeted. "I've heard only good things."

"It's good to finally meet you, Miss Sato," Tosuki replied. "I've been meaning to get in touch with you. We may be interested in acquiring some equipment from you."

"I'd be happy to set up a meeting with you sometime soon," Asami agreed.

Tosuki nodded shortly and then refocused on Ronen. "Sorry to bring you two into this. Your mother didn't want me to call, but you can understand why I couldn't release the two of them on their own recognizance…or, you will once you see them. Come with me, I'll explain the rest in private."

Ronen and Asami followed Tosuki down a side hallway, and once they were alone, Tosuki continued, "A few officers on patrol were alerted to a disturbance at a tavern downtown. When they arrived on scene, they found five people fleeing, and according to other patrons, those five had just been involved in a bar fight. Beifong and Bumi were two of them, and my officers didn't even recognize who they were. All five offenders were brought in, and when one of the senior officers recognized your mom, I was alerted immediately. I had her and your uncle placed in a private cell, away from the usual drunk tank, and then I called hoping to get your father down here to sort them out."

"Do you know who started the fight?" Ronen asked. "Or why it went on in the first place?"

Tosuki shrugged. "Drunken brawls don't always have a reason. Beifong said something about an aggrieved relative of a criminal she put away. Bumi said the three of them deserved the beating. So who knows who really started it. The other three aren't foolish enough to press charges. They'll be happy to just be released in the morning without charges of their own. But…"

Tosuki came to a halt in the middle of the hallway, and Ronen and Asami stopped with him. "It isn't like your mom to do something this reckless. It may not be my place to pry, but the rumors around the city… I'm just hoping this isn't going to become a regular thing. I understand she's dealing with some difficult issues at the moment."

Although Tosuki was a family friend, had been one of Lin's most trusted officers, had been there with her during the siege of headquarters, had been there when Jeia had been born and helped Raizo carry the newborn to safety, Ronen still hesitated to respond. He didn't want to reveal too much and potentially upset his mother for doing so. She was an immensely private person, and she was probably feeling enough shame already for her current situation.

So Ronen answered with, "This won't become a regular thing. I think she just needed a night to unwind and it turned into this. She'll be back to her old self by morning." Or so he hoped.

Tosuki nodded, but with a furrowed brow. "That's more or less what she said to me, albeit with a bit more slurring. I told her to let me know if she needs anything, but I'm doubtful she'll reach out to me."

"I'm sure she appreciates the offer," Ronen assured. "We'll be just fine, Chief."

"I'll leave you to it then," Tosuki said, gesturing to the end of the hall. "They're in the last cell. It's not locked, but there is a guard at the desk across the hall. They should be sober enough by now to make it out of here, but let me know if you need help."

"We'll take it from here," Asami said. "Thank you, Chief."

Tosuki lingered for a moment, as if he wished to say more, or to go and see his former chief once again, but he clicked his heels together and turned away, striding quickly back the way they had come.

Once he was far enough away, Asami murmured to Ronen, "He's nice to offer, but I'm sure your mother is sick of people asking her if she needs anything."

"Oh she absolutely is," Ronen concurred, and then tore his gaze from Tosuki's retreating form to go and find his mother.

Ronen was not certain what he was expecting to find, but coming upon his mother's cell was not the amusing occasion it had been when he had broken his father out of prison a few years prior. In that instance, Tenzin had been arrested much more peacefully and for a very silly misunderstanding, by some small town folk that misinterpreted his enthusiasm for historical mysteries as breaking and entering. Lin's arrest might have been funny under different circumstances, but in that moment Ronen could not find it in him to make a joke. His mother and uncle both looked disheveled and disoriented sitting there on the jail cell's bench. Bumi was mostly upright, his back against the wall behind him, his head tipped back, and his mouth wide open as he slept, snoring loudly in the quiet hall. Lin was leaning on him for support, half slumped against his side, one leg stretched out on the bench. She wasn't quite asleep, but her head lolled forward a few times and her eyes looked heavy. She was wrapped in Bumi's jacket and his arm was curled tight around her chest, even in his sleep, as if he was afraid someone might try to snatch her away.

When Lin noticed Ronen's entrance, she tried and failed to sit up, eyes widening, and she elbowed Bumi in the ribs. Bumi jolted awake with a surprised shout and a slurred, "Who's'ere?"

"Ronen," Lin croaked in answer, grimacing at Bumi's abrupt movements, which had in turn jostled her. She looked pale and she pressed her lips tight together.

"Ronen?" Bumi echoed loudly, looking blearily around the cell. "Was he arrested too?"

"No, idiot," Lin said in a soft voice that didn't match her words. "He came here to get us."

"Oh," Bumi accepted with a small smile, "of course he did. He's a good kid that one."

Ronen had reached his mother and his uncle by then, and he bent down to better assess his mother, looking to see if she had been hurt, but she mostly just looked tired and dizzy, and there was a small bruise forming on her cheekbone. "Hey, Mom," he said quietly. "How are you?"

"Well, there are two of you giving me that disappointed look, so I've been better," Lin mumbled in reply.

"Not disappointed," Ronen insisted, "just concerned is all."

"Is your father mad?" Lin asked with a grimace.

"I didn't tell him," Ronen admitted. "He was sleeping when Tosuki called."

"Well, hey, that means we won't get a lecture," Bumi enthused.

"Yet," Lin grumbled.

"This can just be our secret," Bumi said in a hushed voice to Ronen. "You won't tell, will ya buddy?"

"If I don't, Sora will," Ronen replied.

"Sora knows?" Lin groaned.

"How did this even happen?" Ronen asked. "What were you two doing at that bar?"

"We were having a perfectly good time is what we were doing," Bumi huffed. "Till those losers came and ruined our fun. I got some good shots in though, really roughed 'em up. All in all, it was not the craziest night out I've ever had. I told those cops who we were, but young people these days don't even recognize us!"

"Might have been better if they never had," Lin muttered.

"I'm just glad you two are okay," Ronen said, "but I'd appreciate it if you refrain from getting into bar fights from now on."

"Ronen, my boy," Bumi tried to say wisely through a hiccup, "something you learn when you get to be my age is that bar fights often find you."

Ronen snorted. "Okay, well, you can tell me all about that later. Why don't we get you two out of here?"

Ronen took his mother's hands and helped pull her up, but she winced as she stood and immediately went still, looking like she was going to be sick. She also appeared unsteady on her feet, and Ronen held his hands out in case he needed to catch her.

"'M all right," she mumbled after a long pause, swallowing forcefully and taking a tentative step forward. She wobbled with every step, but when Ronen tried to help, she waved him off, insisting she could do it herself. By the time she made it to the cell door, where Asami stood waiting, Lin seemed to realize she was never going to make it, and when Asami held out her arm, Lin reluctantly latched onto it and let the younger woman lead her down the hall. Ronen stayed next to his uncle Bumi, who wasn't all that coordinated either, but managed to stagger the whole way outside without completely falling over.

Asami drove them to her house, which seemed a better option than trying to corral the drunk pair onto a boat, especially considering the way Ronen's mother had to fight from puking just on the short car ride. Ronen had been planning on that course of action anyways, thinking it better to give his mother time to sober up and calm whatever madness had overcome her before he took her home. He doubted she wanted anyone seeing her like she was.

Thankfully, Mako and Bolin's many family members were all asleep or tucked away at various corners of the mansion when Ronen and the others arrived at Asami's home. Bumi made a raucous as he entered, but Lin was silent, still wrapped in Bumi's coat and shivering. Asami suggested Lin and Bumi get cleaned up, and it was only then that the two of them seemed to notice that they were covered in dirt and glass, and stains that reeked of liquor.

"I've got some clothes you can have," Asami told Lin, who was just looking around the mansion in a sort of daze, as if she'd never seen it before. "Come on, I'll show you…" Asami gently led Lin away, and she went without a fuss.

Ronen ushered his uncle in the other direction, to one of the spare bedrooms, where he found a set of clothes that might fit Bumi's frame. While Ronen was digging through the clothes, Bumi had flopped down on the bed, and when Ronen turned around to face Bumi, he sighed. "Uncle, you know I love you, but what the hell were you thinking?"

"Hey, I told you they started it," Bumi defended. "Your mom and I were just minding our business."

Ronen strode closer to the bed as he asked, "But do you really think getting Mom drunk was a great idea?"

Bumi opened his mouth to protest, but seemed to change his mind before the words ever left his mouth, and his shoulder slumped. For once he looked a little sad and regretful, and Ronen didn't like seeing his uncle like that. "I was just trying to help her out," Bumi murmured. "She's been so depressed lately and I thought I could get her away from it all, that we could have a night of fun for once. I didn't want all the rest of it to happen."

"I know you meant well," Ronen softly replied, reaching out to squeeze his uncle's shoulder.

"I just feel so useless!" Bumi harshly whispered, suddenly in the mood to spill his feelings but still hesitant to do so. "I can't help your brother or your mom or anyone. I just want everything to be right again."

Ronen nodded in grim understanding, the weight of their family's shared suffering bearing down on him. "Believe me, Uncle, we all feel that way."

Lin followed Asami up the stairs and into what she soon realized was the girl's bedroom. It was pretty standard as far as bedrooms went, but a bit more opulent than what Lin was used to. It matched the rest of the mansion in style, but was fairly subdued in comparison. There wasn't a whole lot to make it recognizable as Asami's room, and Lin only realized it when she saw two small picture frames on the bedside table. One of the pictures was the whole group of teens – Korra, Mako, Ronen, Asami, and Bolin. It was a picture that had been taken sometime after the revolution and Amon, on Air Temple Island one day simply because Ronen wanted a group picture of his new-found friends. It was startling how young Ronen looked in it, how young all of them looked, full of hope and unaware of the future to come, all of them smiling brightly. The second photo was a little more recent, of just Ronen and Asami, both of them dressed up and probably on a date or at one of those functions Asami went to in order to find investors for Future Industries. There was a third picture, of Asami with her parents back when she was very young, but it was stuffed behind the other two pictures and purposefully hidden from sight.

The fact that Lin could see the pictures at all meant her vision was no longer the blur it had been not so long ago. She could feel the alcohol slowly fading from her system, but she was still a little off kilter, still fighting some of the nausea that had plagued her ever since she was taken to a jail cell. Mostly she just felt embarrassed and sore, and she dreaded having to tell Tenzin what had happened. She hated that Ronen and Sora knew. What kind of mother was she?

"Will this be okay?" Asami asked, startling Lin from her thoughts. Asami was holding out a mostly plain tunic and pants that looked like they cost more than most of Lin's wardrobe.

Lin nodded and answered, "Uh, yeah, that's fine, thanks."

"You can change in here," Asami said, "and the bathroom is right through that door. Did you want to –" Asami's words cut off into a gasp, eyes widening at something below Lin's eye line. "You're hurt…"

Lin dropped her gaze, to where her arm had finally stretched out from beneath Bumi's coat to accept the clothes, and saw her sleeve soaked with blood. "Oh," she said numbly.

Asami grasped Lin's wrist and rolled the ruined sleeve up, examining the cut there. "It doesn't look very deep. Come here." Asami took Lin by the elbow and guided her to the bathroom before she could protest. Once there, Asami nudged Lin down to sit on the edge of the tub while she sifted through a cabinet for bandages and antiseptic.

As Asami dabbed at the wound to clean it, it stung and it burned, but it was nothing compared to the pain in Lin's heart and she didn't even flinch. "Sorry about all this," she muttered to Asami. "For dragging you into our mess."

Asami shook her head, still focused on her task. "You don't have to be sorry." She squinted at the cut on Lin's arm. "There's some glass in here. I'll have to pull it out."

"Guess that's from getting thrown out a window," Lin mused.

Asami smirked, reaching over to grab a set of tweezers. "You never do anything half way, do you?"

Lin made a noise in the back of her throat that could almost be a sound of amusement, but she made no response and silence fell between them.

After Asami had finished removing the glass and cleaned the wound once more, she began to wrap Lin's arm with gauze, and only then did she finally glance up to meet Lin's gaze for just a moment. "Seriously though," she said quietly, "I'm happy to be useful in any way I can. Ronen is the only family I have these days, and you're a part of that. You can drag me into your mess anytime."

She finished with the bandage and stepped back, and Lin looked up at the young woman, remembering all of a sudden that the girl was essentially an orphan, having barely known her mother, and her father in prison for a multitude of heinous crimes. She had been all alone in that huge mansion before Mako and Bolin's family needed a place to stay, had all but lived on the Island just to avoid it. Almost no one was looking out for her except for Ronen, no one else would be there if she needed them, especially not with Korra still gone.

"Listen, kid," Lin muttered gruffly, before she could change her mind, "if you ever need a – a parental sort of figure… I know you're all grown up now, but if you want me to threaten someone for you, or give ya some not so great advice on how to run your company, don't be afraid to ask."

Asami looked bewildered for half a second, but then she smiled warmly. "That's… very nice of you. Thank you, Lin." She turned away to wash her hands and put away the bandages, and when she turned back to Lin, a thought seemed to come to her. "Actually, there is an investor I've been having some trouble with. Just the usual misogynistic old guy type. I can handle his less than subtle remarks, but I've been itching to say something in response and I know that I should be above it, not risk losing his money for my pride. But if you were to maybe say something to him for me –"

"Say no more, kid," Lin interjected. "Thinly veiled insults are my favorite past time. You just tell me when and where and I'll be there."

Asami's smile brightened, and it warmed Lin a little. At least she could still be useful to somebody.

But then there was a knock on the door frame, and Ronen poked his head into the bathroom looking apologetic as he said, "Sora just called. Dad is on his way." And Lin's stomach dropped.

Lin had seen Tenzin angry before. She had seen him deeply upset and she had seen him disappointed. She had seen all of those emotions directed at her a handful of times, but what she saw when he arrived at Asami's was something else. A combination of all of them maybe, or a whole new emotion that was meant to strike her at the core. She went outside to meet him as soon as Oogi landed, because she had a feeling she wasn't going to want anyone to overhear the conversation – or argument – they were about to have. She was sobering up quickly now, but she still wobbled a little as she went hastily down the stairs and out into the courtyard. She knew she must have looked a frightful mess. She was still picking glass out of her frazzled hair and the bruise on her cheek was swelling, and even though she was wearing clean clothes now she still reeked of booze and her arm was wrapped in gauze. But Tenzin didn't comment on any of that as he stormed up to her. He just looked down at her with flared nostrils and a shake of his head.

"What on earth were you thinking?" he demanded.

"I know, I know," Lin tried to placate. "I screwed up."

"The understatement of the century," Tenzin scoffed.

"I don't want to fight –" Lin started to say.

"You never want to fight when it's inconvenient for you," Tenzin cut her off. "And yet you make such unwise decisions, pulling all of us into it, never thinking of what it might do to someone else –"

"Now hang on," Lin interrupted, slowly, still on a slight delay. "I doubt you're worried about a scandal, and I'm the one that had to sit in jail."

"I cannot do this," Tenzin declared, voice quiet but somehow still harsh and firm. "Not this time. I've let it pass before because I know this sort of thing is difficult for you, but I can't – I – I can't."

For a moment she couldn't be certain what he meant. For a moment she felt unwell and it was not from the liquor. It was what she had expected at one time, for him to grow weary of her difficult character. But that wasn't what she was seeing now, not in that way. On the outside he just looked terse, but Lin knew his soul and she could see what he felt, and what he needed from her now, and she closed the distance between them to grasp his hands, and she promised him, "I'm here."

"I need you," he stressed in a whisper, squeezing her hands so tight she felt her knuckles crack, tilting his head down and closing his eyes. "I cannot do this alone."

"I know," she said, pressing her cheek to his. "I know. I'm with you. You're not alone."

He shuddered and wrapped his arms tight around her, and she held him tightly back, vowing to herself to never let him feel alone again. She couldn't fall back on her usual behavior when things got tough anymore. How could she expect Yunjin to get better when she couldn't even manage herself? She needed to set an example, she needed to be strong.

In the long hours that Yunjin slept on and off for days on end, he dreamt of flying. Not walking or running, but the gift once afforded to him to be able to soar amongst the clouds. His dreams were like memories, of the time when he had been able to leap off of any cliff or spire and become one with the wind, of when he could climb onto the back of any ski bison and spiral without fear. Every dream began the same, all carefree and joyful, surrounded by his element and basking in its warmth.

And then reality struck, or rather P'Li's blast struck him in the back, and pain lanced out in every direction. All of sudden the air became cold and sharp, and his flight became a fall. He was dropping, dropping, down into darkness, into pain and misery. And when he woke he could not move. When he woke he had no connection to the air, barely had a connection to his toes, and the darkness had consumed him.

He knew that his family wanted him to get better, to be positive, to pull through, but aside from them he could find little reason to do so. His life had been ruined. He would likely never fly again, and never with the freedom he'd once had. He was just a burden now. He felt nothing but embarrassment and shame and loss. He could not dress himself or take himself to the bathroom without an exorbitant amount of difficulty. He had to rely on his family to care for him, and he could not stand it. He didn't care what they said, about how they didn't mind, about how they were happy to help him however they could. He knew they were lying. He knew they would come to resent him just as he already resented himself. What kind of life could he lead as a cripple when all he had ever been good at was bending? What kind of life could his family have if they were always taking care of him?

He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to go on. He was just tired. So tired. Tired of calling for help, tired of spending hours in physical therapy and not seeing improvement, tired of being in pain. Pushing people away was the only way to silence them, the only way to keep them from tiring him further. And the easier they gave up the easier it was for him to give up too.

Some were more resistant. Sora for one, but he could tell she was wavering. His parents, for another, but Dad was so worried about giving him space and Mom was impatient, evidenced by her explosion that evening when he had refused to eat. Eating was a chore, and it often made him feel sick these days, and he wasn't in the mood for anything at all.

He had expected that his mother would be away for several days at least, if not a whole week. It was what she did when she overreacted and got upset, hid and licked her wounds. He certainly would have never guessed that she would show up again that same night. He had heard his father worrying to Ronen earlier about Mom leaving the Island, and Yunjin wasn't even sure she would be home before the following morning. When she did return, he knew that it was late, but he didn't keep track of the hours these days to know for certain.

As per usual, he didn't move or react to the sound of footsteps in his room, nor the dip in his bed as someone sat down on the edge. He did startle, however, when he felt an arm wrap around his chest, and someone's breath on the back of his neck. The smell of booze and sweat and whatever else was striking.

And then his mother's voice could be heard breaking through the stillness, hushed and ragged, wavering in a way he had never heard before. "You shouldn't have died," she whispered. "If there's one thing you ought to be certain of it's that. Take what time you need but I'm never giving up on you. I'm not letting you give up. I love you. We'll figure the rest out. You're a Beifong, and you're my boy. You hear me? This isn't the end. You're not allowed to give up. I love you and I will not lose you."

Yunjin felt his stomach clench, but whether it was from hunger or some emotion elicited by his mother's somewhat unusual expression of love, he couldn't wholly say. He was discomfited by the whole thing though, and sought to break the tension on instinct, forgetting for a moment that he was supposed to be silent and mumbling, "You stink."

He heard her snort weakly, and then she muttered back, "So do you."

Yunjin's lips actually quirked, and he turned his head to look at her. But any bit of amusement quickly faded when he saw his mother's face. The bruise on her cheek was unexpected, but not all that startling. It was the tears brimming in her eyes and traced down her face that jolted him. Now Yunjin's stomach was turned upside down. He wracked his brain for a time when he had ever seen his mother cry, and he came up with nothing. He remembered her being grim, he remembered her being distraught, but he had never seen tears fall from her eyes for anything, certainly not him. She lifted her hand towards him, but seemed to rethink it, and only the tips of her fingers brushed so lightly against his cheek that he thought he might be delirious after all.

Yunjin did not know what to do. He did not know what to feel. He only wanted it to stop. He squeezed her hand where it rested over his heart, but his grip was weak. Everything about him was weak now. He couldn't think of what to say, so he turned away, staring once more at the wall across from his bed.

Eventually, his mother left, and Yunjin rolled over to face the open doorway, grimacing when his back protested the movement. His eyes caught the tray of food laying on his bedside table, and his stomach hurt just to look at it. After maybe an hour or two, or maybe only several minutes, he reached over to pick up a slice of bread. It was almost too dry to swallow, but he forced it down, and then took one gulp of water. His energy was spent from that simple task, and he let himself slump back down into bed, down into his dreams, where he would fly and fly and then inevitably fall into darkness once more.

After two weeks of straining to eat and move and be awake, so that his mother would not cry again and the rest of his family would not look so aggrieved, Yunjin could take no more. Everything was dark and misery, and he felt as if he was suffocating there in his room. It was he who had confined himself to the space, but it gave him no further comfort. He needed out. He needed to feel the wind on his face.

Crawling into the wheelchair his brother and Asami had built for him took an exorbitant amount of effort, and he was heaving for breath by the time he managed to right himself in the seat. Pushing himself out of the room was easy though, with the chair performing as promised, with barely little effort needed to control it, and some mechanics involved to make the ride smoother and faster. It was the middle of the night and thankfully everyone else was in bed, just as Yunjin had hoped, and he was able to slip outside without being bothered. Once there, he paused in the front courtyard, breathing in the cool night air, closing his eyes and reveling in it for just a moment. And then he was on the move again.

He traveled the whole way down to the docks, abandoned at that time of night, and he sat in his chair by the edge, staring into the dark depths of the bay just below. He listened to the push and pull of the waves, felt the salt spray on his face and thought of better times, of days he'd spent running along the beach with Sora, sand and water in his hair, carefree and happy and strong. When he lifted his gaze to the sky, he could pretend for a moment that he was lying on his back, listening only partially as Ronen droned on about constellations and the importance of the stars. Yunjin yearned for those days, for that freedom from his current burden.

And then all of a sudden, he was crying too, deep, tortured sobs that wracked his feeble frame and echoed around him in the empty night. He wept for the loss of his strength, the loss of his bending, and for the suffering he caused himself and his family every single day. He wept for the boy he had once been, for the boy he would never be again, and he wept over the injustice of it all.

He did not notice the presence beside him until the shimmering spirit moved, catching his eye and causing him to jerk in his chair. He hissed at the pain it caused, and then looked upon Dasne with a mixture of surprise and fear. Dasne, the spirit of sorrow, who's pale features were nearly transparent, who's dark hair was as black and bleak as the night sky. She brought with her misery and despair, and what could her presence possibly do but make Yunjin feel worse?

"You," he accused, defensive at once. "What are you doing here?"

She looked down upon him with wet eyes that seemed to stare directly into his soul. "I go where I am needed," she whispered into the night, her voice seeming to carry along the air like a breeze. "It is as I told you when we last met. Where there is sorrow, there I shall be."

"So this is your fault," he spat, voice hoarse from emotion and disuse. "You've made me this way. You made me weak."

Dasne shook her head slowly, a tear streaking down her cheek as she softly replied, "Grief is only one part of life. Though you feel weak now, you will be stronger in the end."

Yunjin scoffed and exploded, "So what?! I'm just supposed to sit here and accept my fate? Watch my life disappear and wait for whatever's next? I can hardly get out of bed on my own and you tell me I'll somehow be stronger? I'll never be like I was before! I'll always be less! You're supposed to help me through this grief, right? So then why have you brought me only pain? Why?! Tell me why?" His voice broke and a loud thunder clap rang through the sky, and he shuddered, shutting his eyes tight, remembering the blast that struck him in the spine, that had changed his whole life in a single moment. And when he spoke next his voice was quieter, and he trembled as he repeated, "Why?"

Why had the Red Lotus come after them at all? Why had P'Li tried to shoot down a bison full of innocents and children? Why had Yunjin been the one to intercept it? Why had he not been able to stop the blast from doling out the damage it had caused? Why could he not make it through physical therapy without pain, and with such slow progress? Why was he letting this one thing, however monumental it was, destroy what he had left of his life? It was dismantling him bit by bit, cutting into everything he still held dear, especially the ones he loved.

Dasne reached out, her hand briefly settling on his shoulder, and a chill ran through him as he looked up at her once more. And then, with a flash of lightning that lit up the space around them, she was gone.

The sky opened up, and a steady downpour of rain descended from above, drenching Yunjin in a matter of seconds. He sat there staring at the space where Dasne had disappeared, and a moment later another figure filled it, and he recognized Sora running towards him.

She looked stricken by the sight of him, worried, no doubt, about why he was out there and what he might be doing. His heart ached, and he rushed to tell her, "I – I'm sorry."

She didn't seem to fully understand what he was apologizing for, or maybe she knew exactly what he meant. She leaned in at once to hug him, and the familiar feel of his twin's embrace was a balm to his wounded soul.

Sora helped him back inside without saying a word, letting him wrangle with his own thoughts for once, instead of filling the silence with chatter. But he had finally had enough of being alone with his thoughts. After Sora had settled him in front of the fireplace, with a blanket wrapped around both their shoulders, he told her, "I've been thinking. About… well, a lot of things. But I read something once, when we were visiting the Air Temples. It was at the Southern Temple, I think. I don't remember the full passage. But it was about the duality of airbending. An Air Nomad is meant to be peaceful, to avoid conflict and use only defensive measures wherever possible. But airbending can be dangerous too, and fatally so. Too much force and too little control grants us power we're not meant to use, but too much restraint and we risk ourselves. You and I are a bit like that. Without you I'm all force and no control."

Sora opened her mouth, looking like she was going to try and protest, because she believed in him more than he believed in himself, but Yunjin continued before she could.

"I was wondering if you would come with me to my next physical therapy," he said. "Maybe with you there, it'll remind me of my own limits, and the control I need will come more naturally."

Sora did not respond at once, looking stunned for a moment by his request. When she recovered, she smiled softly and took his hand in both of hers, squeezing lightly as she answered, "Of course I'll come with you." And it was such a relief to see her genuinely smile for the first time in months that Yunjin found himself smiling a little too.

From the hallway, Lin and Tenzin watched the twins with a mixture of hope and worry. Lin hadn't been able to sleep either, and when Tenzin woke in the middle of the night unable to sleep further with her sitting rigidly next to him on the bed, they decided to go to the kitchen for some tea. They had heard then, when Sora and Yunjin came back inside, apparently having been out in the rain for spirit's knows how long. Tenzin had been about to go out and ask if they were all right and what was going on, but Lin urged him to hang back for a moment. They couldn't quite hear what was going on, but when Sora took Yunjin's hand and smiled, and Yunjin smiled back, Lin felt just a little of the tension in her chest abate.

"Well," Tenzin murmured low enough not to be overheard, "that looks promising."

Lin nodded, grasping Tenzin's arm and leaning into his side. "Why don't we leave them to it?"

"Do you think you can sleep now?" Tenzin asked, placing his hand over hers and looking down at her with that loving gaze.

"I think so," Lin answered.

And sure enough, once she was lying in bed, ensconced in Tenzin's warm embrace, she slept soundly through the rest of the night for the first time in a long while.

The following morning, Yunjin joined the family for breakfast for the first time in months, and though they were all delighted to see him up and about, it was not the biggest surprise they received that day.

Later that afternoon, an airship came to the Island, with Kuvira's insignia on the side. In that past several months, Kuvira had been extending her reach across the Earth Kingdom, reuniting the nation bit by bit. But there were troubling rumors abound, not to mention the way she had betrayed Su. So Lin wanted nothing to do with Kuvira, and if the young woman had come to the Island for anything, Lin was fully prepared to send her away, no matter how interested Jeia was in seeing her old mentor.

Except Kuvira was not on the airship, and the people aboard did not stay long. Only one of them descended, along with a large crate, and held out a letter.

When Lin went to take it, Kuvira's lackey snatched it away saying, "The Commander ordered me to give this directly to Yunjin Beifong, to ensure that he receives his gift."

Lin scoffed at the military man's clipped tone, and probably would have fought him for the letter if Yunjin hadn't rolled up next to her just before. Lin had tried to go to the airship herself, but of course all four of her children and Tenzin had come with her.

"The Commander?" Yunjin echoed in question. "You mean Kuvira? What has she sent me a gift for?"

"The Commander wishes you a full and speedy recovery," the man replied. "She hopes this will help." He patted the crate, and then stepped forward to hand Yunjin the letter. "It's all written there. I must be returning to the front."

Lin watched the man retreat with a scowl, and when she turned back to Yunjin, he had opened and read the letter. Sora was reading it over his shoulder, Jeia was staring up at the airship, and Ronen and Tenzin were examining the crate.

"What does it say?" Lin asked.

Yunjin looked up with a furrowed brow. "She says that she had Junior build something, for my legs. She says that it should help me walk until I regain my strength."

"Well that's incredibly generous," Ronen said, still curiously looking over the crate, helping his father try to pry the lid off.

"Will it work though?" Sora wondered.

"More importantly, why would she send me something like this?" Yunjin questioned. "Kuvira and I were never close, not like she is to Jeia."

"It is a bit… unexpected," Tenzin agreed.

"It's suspicious," Lin grumbled.

"Why?" Jeia scoffed. "Can't she do something nice?"

Nice, was never a word that Lin would have used to describe Kuvira, but she knew what Kuvira meant to her youngest daughter and she held her tongue.

But no matter what Jeia believed of Kuvira, Lin didn't trust her, and she certainly did not trust whatever contraption was in that box.