Chapter 93
After the initial shock of seeing Lin wore off, Saikhan ushered her into his home. He pointed her to a seat at his tiny kitchen table and asked her if she wanted tea. She told him no, but he looked her up and down again with a raised brow and said he was getting her tea. He had already been making some, apparently, so it only took him a minute to pour her a cup and sit it down in front of her.
Before he could make his own and join her, a small child peered into the room, tiny hands braced on the door frame as she curiously asked, "Grandpa, who was it?"
Saikhan saw the look on Lin's face, a mixture of grief and surprise, and shuffled over to block the girl from Lin's view. He bent down and quietly told the kid, "It's okay, sweet pea. She's an old friend. Why don't you go finish your drawing? I'll introduce you later, okay?"
"Okay, Grandpa," the little girl acquiesced, peering around his legs to get a look at Lin one more time before toddling back into the other room.
Saikhan didn't say anything to Lin about the girl, but it wasn't difficult to figure out. She had known, when he left Republic City, that his estranged daughter was newly married and pregnant, and the reconciliation he had planned must have gone well if the little girl was calling him grandpa and staying at his house. She must have been around four years old, and Lin wondered at how Saikhan had to have changed over the years. She had certainly never heard him refer to anyone as sweet pea before.
He sat down across from her with his own cup of tea and asked, "So what's happened? Must be bad if it brought you all the way out here."
Lin swallowed, nausea swirling in her gut at the mere thought of what had brought her to Saikhan's door. She was still in a state of disbelief, struck with the impossibility of it all, that someone had taken her little girl. "Jeia," she choked out. "They took Jeia."
Saikhan reeled back in surprise. "What? Who?!" he questioned.
"That's why I'm here," Lin replied. "I didn't know who could be behind it. They were dressed like sandbenders and they escaped on sandsailers, but it doesn't make sense as to why they would take her. We had one of the bastards involved and I questioned him, and when I finally got it out of him, he told me that the man he answered to was Chen."
Saikhan frowned. "Chen. Kane's son, Chen? The one that was with the Triple Threats during the siege?"
Lin nodded grimly. "The one I let get away. You were right the whole time. We should have taken him when we had the chance, put him in prison where he belonged. But I didn't listen to you."
"Well, shit, even I didn't expect this," Saikhan muttered, shaking his head in disgust. "This is beyond low. I thought he would have done the smart thing and kept his head down. This is just –" He huffed in frustration, and then looked at Lin seriously, but she almost couldn't take him seriously in that pink striped pajama top. "What do you need from me? How can I help?"
"Do you remember when you brought that file to my office four years ago, right before the Equalist Revolution? You told me our officers had found Chen and I told you to leave it. Well, I was doing such a good job at ignoring it that I don't remember where he was living or who we even had looking for him. I was hoping maybe you remembered something. The town he was in, or maybe the officers working the case."
"I can do you one better than that," Saikhan revealed. "I know exactly where Chen lives. Well, assuming he hasn't moved in the last two years, but he seemed pretty settled there." Lin narrowed her eyes in confusion, and Saikhan scratched the back of his neck with a hint of embarrassment as he explained. "I couldn't let it go. Even after the whole Equalist fiasco and forced retirement. When I got here, I kept thinking about it. I mostly remembered where Chen lived from obsessively reading the file you wanted me to get rid of, and I tracked him down. I watched him for a while, kept expecting him to still be involved in some kind of scheme. But I followed him for months and I never saw anything. I thought you had been right all along and I was acting crazy."
"Well, it's a little crazy," Lin said truthfully, "but I'm glad you did it. Can you tell me how to get there?"
"I'll come with you," Saikhan decided, rising to his feet.
Lin rose too, her muscles protesting the sudden movement. "I don't know how this is gonna go down. I didn't come here to drag you back into my mess."
"Are you kidding?" Saikhan snorted. "I'm going stir crazy out here. Thirty years on the beat was tough to quit. I'll be glad to stretch my muscles. Hopefully I still fit in the armor."
Lin almost smirked, and would have made a crack about Saikhan's very clearly retired appearance, but she was thinking too much about Jeia and couldn't manage it.
The sound of the front door opening caught their attention, and Lin tensed, instinctively thinking someone had tracked her to Saikhan's and was about to attack. But Saikhan squeezed her shoulder and assured, "It's okay, it's just Minya."
He reached the doorway between the kitchen and the front hall at the same time as the woman presumably called Minya. She had long gray hair all the way down her back and warm amber eyes, and her arms were full of bags of groceries. She smiled brightly at Saikhan even as they nearly collided with one another, and gratefully excepted his help as he took some of the bags from her.
"I see you've made a lot of progress since I left," Minya teased, eyeing Saikhan's pajamas in the early afternoon light.
"Yumi wanted to draw," Saikhan defended, and Lin assumed he was talking about his granddaughter. "And we also have a guest."
Saikhan stepped back so that Minya's view was no longer obstructed, and she startled a little at the sight of Lin, quickly composing herself as polite people do, but Lin figured she wasn't currently a pretty sight to behold.
"Minya, this is Chief Lin Beifong," Saikhan introduced.
"Oh!" Minya said with a kind smile that only looked a little forced. "Chief Beifong! It's so nice to finally meet you." She hurried forward to shake Lin's hand. "Saikhan told me so much about you. Well, about what a great detective you were, mostly. Nothing embarrassing."
"If you're looking for embarrassing stories I've got plenty about him," Lin managed to joke, even though the smile barely formed on her lips.
"I've definitely got to hear those," Minya said with interest, smirking over at Saikhan. "But I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on. Just let me put these groceries away and I'll be out of your hair."
"Actually, Minya, I've got to head out for a bit," Saikhan told her, and Lin could tell he was trying to sound firm but there was some hesitation, like he was worried about her reaction. "Lin needs some help, old case that I've got some intel on. I shouldn't be gone long."
Minya's smile faltered. It was the very thing that had kept Saikhan from having a lasting relationship when he had been on the force, that disconcerted look and the inevitable worry. After a time it became too much. Lin felt guilty already for involving him.
"Oh. Where are you going?" Minya asked.
"Not far," Saikhan assured. "It's just a village a few miles from here."
Saikhan's granddaughter came rushing into the kitchen before Minya could come up with a response, and the little girl crashed into the older woman's knees with a wide smile on her face. "Grandma! You're back! There's a lady here that's old friends with Grandpa. Do you know her? Is she your friend too?"
Minya smiled softly and patted Yumi's hair. "I didn't have the pleasure of knowing her, darling, but she's Lin Beifong. You know, from Grandpa's stories? The Chief of Police in Republic City and the daughter of Toph Beifong. She's married to Air Master Tenzin."
Yumi's mouth gaped and she looked over at Lin with wide eyes. All of a sudden she turned shy, hiding half behind Minya's skirt as she waved at Lin looking stunned.
Lin kept thinking about Jeia and the time she was wasting and she wanted to throw up, but instead she took a step forward with her hand outstretched and said, "Hey, kid, nice to meet ya."
Yumi reached out to shake Lin's hand with excitement. "Grandpa says you and him fighted all the bad guys."
Lin nodded. "That's right."
Saikhan bent a little at the waist to be more eye level with Yumi as he told her, "I have to go with the Chief to help her with an important mission. You'll be good for Grandma while I'm gone?"
Yumi nodded seriously, and Saikhan patted her on the shoulder before straightening back up.
He turned to Lin and added, "Let me just get changed and then we can go."
"Right now?" Minya asked.
"It's time sensitive," Saikhan said, squeezing past her to go and get dressed.
Minya watched him go, hesitated, and then nudged Yumi. "Why don't you start putting the groceries away, sweetheart? I'll be right back to help."
Minya followed after Saikhan, and once they were both out of ear shot, Yumi looked back up at Lin. "What's the mission?"
"I'm looking for someone," Lin vaguely answered, having the presence of mind not to scar the child with a kidnapping.
"An important someone?" Yumi questioned.
Lin's voice was choked as she replied, "Yes, a very important someone."
Yumi patted Lin's hand. "You'll find them. Grandpa says you're the best."
The kid started unpacking the groceries then, and Lin felt out of place in the tiny kitchen. She looked around and actually took in her surroundings that time, taking note of how homey it was, and she remembered seeing the inside of Saikhan's apartment in the city, and it had never looked half as lived in. Apparently, he had been doing well since retirement. She didn't know when he had gotten a wife – or at least, she assumed he and Minya were married – and she had never expected him to be so close to his grandkid, but she was happy for him. Or she would be, when she wasn't so miserable worrying about Jeia.
Lin started to help Yumi for all of three minutes, handing the little girl items for her to put away, since Lin didn't know where any of it went, but it started to feel suffocating very fast. She started thinking about Jeia helping her put away groceries back home and she had to get out of that house. She staggered back outside and heaved in a desperate breath of air. She used the bison whistle to call back Kyuti, and then she stood out in Saikhan's front yard to wait for him, trying not to have some kind of panic attack in the meantime.
When she sensed movement behind her, she turned to see Saikhan stepping out of the front door, dressed in his old metalbending armor and looking a lot more like himself – or at least, the Saikhan Lin had known. Minya was right behind him and her expression was grave as she looked over at Lin – Saikhan must have told her then.
"Ready to go?" Saikhan asked Lin, who nodded mutely. He turned to embrace Minya, and she held on tight as she briefly kissed him goodbye. They exchanged a few whispered words, and then detached.
Minya took two steps forward and held her hand out to Lin, who took it expecting a handshake, only to have the woman clasp Lin's hand in both of hers. "Good luck, Chief Beifong. I hope to meet you again someday, under better circumstances. Please feel welcome to come back, after you've found your little girl. Bring the whole family. Yumi and I love company."
Lin nodded with a short, "Thanks." She jerked her head towards Saikhan, "I'll look after him."
Saikhan rolled his eyes at her, but Minya smiled tremulously and mouthed, "Thank you."
Minya released Lin's hand, and Lin went straight over to where Kyuti waited. Saikhan followed, and just before climbing up, Lin asked him, "You sure about this?"
"I'm with you, Chief," he said without hesitation. "Come on. One last ride. As partners?"
He held his hand out, and Lin looked at it for a moment, remembering the days when they were young and ambitious, and their jobs had meant everything to them, and they spent more time with each other than they did their own families. Saikhan had been her partner for three decades, had been her most trusted officer, had her back through innumerable battles. They had seen each other through their worst times – Lin's struggles to get pregnant, Saikhan's frequent relationship troubles, both their struggles with figuring out how to be parents, Saikhan's gambling addiction, and all of Lin's fights with Tenzin that sent her running straight to work. Neither of them had ever been good at emotional comfort, but they knew each other so well that they always picked up on those moods, and could usually help each other through them with little gestures and unspoken support. Unless they were both in a foul mood and then it was usually just a bunch of hostility that they eventually forgave each other for after some time apart. Lin might have dropped the ball in not keeping in contact, and Saikhan might have made some pretty major mistakes in his last months on the force, but Saikhan had been and always would be Lin's partner.
Lin reached out and clasped Saikhan's hand with her own in solidarity and thanks and all the words she would never express. "Partners."
After his mother left, Ronen went into the prisoner's room to assess the damage, worried about what he might find, and almost relieved when it wasn't quite as bad as he expected. Just a few broken fingers and some shallow cuts that were probably more threats than anything too painful. Ronen was still uneasy about it all, but he could at least console himself with the fact that his mother was practicing some self-restraint. With the way she had left, he half expected her to go on a rampage, and he wished that he could have went after her. He wished a lot of things recently.
Instead he patched up the prisoner as best he could, and he almost apologized except he remembered that Jeia was still missing and he decided not to. He asked the sandbender his name and what he had told Lin, but received no answers at first. It wasn't until later, after Ronen had checked in on Sora and spoke with Kuvira's soldiers to assure them he would be leaving soon that the prisoner finally spoke. When Ronen asked that time, the man told him that the only thing he knew about Jeia being taken was that the man he reported to was Chen. At first, Ronen couldn't remember who that was, but he knew he had heard the name before. He figured his father would know who it was, and apparently his mother knew exactly where to go.
Aunt Su arrived sometime in the morning, having left Zaofu the moment she received Ronen's letter. She engulfed him in a crushing hug and asked him what had happened, and he explained everything as best as he could. He didn't mention Chen yet because mostly he forgot and also he wanted to wait for his father before any of the rest of them went out looking.
Shortly before Tenzin arrived, Sora woke a little less confused but still groggy. She was coherent though and suspicious and Ronen had to tell her what else had happened when she had been attacked. She was understandably upset to learn that Jeia had been with her and captured, and it seemed like she was beginning to remember flashes of the battle, but not enough to give them any further clues as to what had gone on or why.
When Tenzin and Asami finally made an appearance around late afternoon, Sora was up and moving about without too much swaying, but she was still hurting too badly to concentrate enough to look for Jeia. The healer had been around to check on her, and said her wound was healing nicely but she should still take it easy for a day or two. The healer had to have noticed the added injuries on the sandbender, but after Ronen had worriedly told his Aunt Su about what his mother had done, she went into the room and must have worked her magic. The healer left looking frustrated but he didn't report them to the village authorities. The police did take the sandbender to their prison though, and assured Ronen the man would face judgement for his crimes.
The hard part was seeing his father, having to tell him what had happened, having to tell him that Mom had run off to spirit's knows where.
"And she just left?" Tenzin asked in a shaky voice, but he didn't look all that surprised. "She didn't say where she was going or what the lead was?"
"No," Ronen answered, "but sometime after she had gone, the prisoner finally told me what he apparently told her. I didn't fully understand, but she must have. He told me that he answers to Chen, that they were told to bring Jeia to him."
"Chen?" Tenzin echoed, sounding surprised now.
"The Chen?" Su added in disbelief.
"Is there any other that we'd have a connection to?" Tenzin said to Su.
"Why is that name familiar?" Ronen asked them. "Who is Chen?"
Tenzin sighed, and slumped further in the chair they'd sat him in earlier when he looked like he might faint. Asami and Sora were on either side of him as Ronen explained everything he knew, and Su stood next to Ronen with her arms crossed, having already heard most of it.
"Chen was involved in the siege of police headquarters," Tenzin revealed, "on the very day Jeia was born. He had a vendetta against your mother for killing his father, so he helped Shira and the Triple Threats develop their plan to attack the police."
Sora frowned. "Mom killed his father?"
"Kane," Tenzin confirmed with a nod. "The leader of the Silver Granite Triad."
"Silver Granite?" Asami repeated questioningly.
"Exclusively earthbenders," Su explained. "They no longer exist, thanks in part to Lin."
"Kane terrorized and murdered countless innocents," Tenzin added. "Your mother was only around twenty when she first captured him, had only been on the police force for a short time. Kane was smart and formidable, and evaded arrest for many years. He was beyond enraged when he was stopped by a rookie cop. He spent his days in prison plotting his escape, and eventually he did, with the help of Deak."
"I remember him," Ronen said with a grimace.
Tenzin inclined his head. "That's right. Deak was a police officer and an admirer of your mother. But he joined Kane when he found fault with the inner workings of the police department and, in particular, with your mother, who was clearly destined to take over as Chief. He spent even more years in prison plotting revenge than Kane did, and when he escaped with the help of Shira, Chen, and the Triple Threats, he attempted to hurt your mother by threatening you. Of course, that didn't end up going his way."
"Well none of us were born when Kane escaped," Sora pointed out, "so what did he do?"
"He sent the city into turmoil," Tenzin replied.
"Everything was shut down," Su continued. "People were hiding in their homes. Lin and I were forced to stay on Air Temple Island per our mother's orders. But Kane was killing police and citizens alike, and when he offered up an ultimatum, for Lin to give herself over to him so that the violence would stop, she ran straight back to the city."
"Of course she did," Ronen murmured, mostly to himself. His mother was always sacrificing herself for everyone else, only he was used to her doing it for him and his siblings. He had always known, of course, that she had done it for everyone else when she was a cop, but she kept so much of that part of herself hidden that it was sometimes easy to forget. He had been worried about her going to such extreme measures to look for Jeia, but what about all the things she had done for the city and the world in all her years? Maybe ten minutes of a lapse was warranted.
"She handed herself over to Kane?" Sora asked. "But how did she get away?"
"She almost didn't," Tenzin said quietly, a far off look in his eyes. "We scoured the city for her, all while –"
He hesitated, looking at his children, and he probably would have skipped over it if Su hadn't finished, "Kane and Deak tortured her for their own enjoyment. They intended to kill her, but she managed to break free. She fought Kane and she won."
"We didn't find out until many years later that Kane had a son," Tenzin went on quickly. "Chen and his mother lived in Ba Sing Se. Kane sent them money and visited from time to time. Chen was too young to ever know who his father truly was, only that your mother was the reason Kane was dead. He came to the city as an adult to find out why, and joined up with the Triple Threats for a time. Your mother and I believed that Chen had simply been in over his head. Towards the end of the siege, he was with Shira when she confronted your mother. Lin told him the truth, that she killed his father in self defense, and that his father was an evil person that had killed many before he was stopped. We thought that, with this closure, and seeing how he ran off and didn't participate in the final battle, Chen would simply leave us alone, and for many years he did. We hadn't heard anything from him in the eight years since, and her officers never caught him in any other criminal acts. She decided not to pursue charges against him."
"So then why would he do this now?" Ronen wondered. "Why wait all this time?"
"Maybe he knew he had to be careful to avoid detection," Su guessed. "And then once it blew over he had to plan, find the right people to help him and figure out the best way to hurt Lin. If he's as calculating as his father, he'd have planned it to the last detail."
"It's odd though," Asami said slowly, looking contemplative. "If he had all this so meticulously planned, it seems unlikely that Lin would have been able to get any information out of that sandbender, or at least, that she would be able to get Chen's name so easily."
"Unless Chen wanted her to know it was him," Sora worried.
"Meaning she could be walking into a trap," Su surmised.
"But how does she know where to find him?" Ronen asked.
"That I don't know," Tenzin regrettably admitted. "I remember that he was living in the Fire Nation a few years after the siege, but your mother told Saikhan to call off the surveillance. Maybe she still remembers where he was living."
"Would he still be there though if he's really been plotting all this?" Asami pointed out.
"I guess he would be if he wants her to find him," Su reminded.
"Well how can we find him?" Sora inquired.
"I suppose I could try to get in contact with Chief Tosuki," Tenzin considered. "He may have the information on file somewhere. I don't know if Lin had Saikhan destroy the file or not."
"Are we sure the information the sandbender gave us is accurate?" Asami interjected. "How did your mother even get him to talk?"
Ronen winced because he had only told his Aunt Su about Mom forcing the answers out of the prisoner, and he didn't really want to have to tell his father, and especially not Sora.
Fortunately for him, his Aunt Su answered for him. "Lin can be pretty persuasive. I'm sure she threatened him with some hefty prison time. In any case, how else would he know that the name Chen would be familiar to her?"
Tenzin rose to his feet, hand braced against the back of the chair as if he was struggling to lift his own weight. "I'll go into the sheriff's office and see if they'll let me use their radio to contact Tosuki."
Sora started to say, "I'll go with y –"
But she trailed off, and turned her head, tilting it slightly as if she was trying to hear something better, and Ronen saw their father doing the same.
"What is it?" Ronen asked them.
"An airship," Tenzin responded. "It's close."
"It's probably just more of Kuvira's troops," Su said with unveiled disgust.
They all went outside to investigate anyways, and stood in the courtyard to watch the airship's approach. It was one of Kuvira's airships, but it was headed straight for the motel, which was a little odd, unless Yunjin had enough sway to send some troops to help look for Jeia. Except Aunt Su wouldn't be happy about that, no matter how badly she wanted to find Jeia.
Ronen hadn't known what to expect, but he didn't think he would see his brother hastening down the ramp before the airship even fully landed.
Sora gasped a delighted and relieved, "Yunjin!" and went racing over to embrace her twin.
The rest of them went to greet Yunjin with surprise, with hugs all around, and Sora was tearful. Yunjin kept his arm around her shoulders so she could tuck herself into his side as he talked.
"I came as fast as I could," he said, looking regretful that it hadn't been sooner. "Where's Mom?"
"She's following a lead," Tenzin gently explained. "She left before the rest of us got here."
"How did you manage to get away?" Su cut in. "I'm sure Kuvira wasn't happy that you had to leave at a time like this."
"She was actually pretty understanding," Yunjin admitted. "You know she has a soft spot for Jeia. She says she wants to help. She, uh, she made me bring Bataar. He's hiding onboard for now."
Aunt Su looked behind Yunjin as if she expected Junior to appear at the top of the ramp, her expression all the more troubled. "Junior is here?"
"Yeah, but he's not thrilled about it. Thinks we planned this to entrap him or something. But what's this lead Mom is following?"
"We'll explain on the way," Ronen said. "We need to get in contact with Tosuki in Republic City, so we were just about to head to the sheriff's station, to see if they've got a long distance radio –"
"Oh, I've got one of those," Yunjin interrupted. "Kuvira had Junior equip all the airships with long range equipment. Come on…"
He was already leading the way back up the ramp, and the rest of them followed. Yunjin took them to the cockpit, where they found Junior fiddling with some wires he had pulled out of a side panel. He frowned when he saw them enter, and went back to what he was doing without acknowledging they were there. Ronen was happy to ignore him; his main focus was finding Jeia and his mother.
Yunjin didn't speak to Junior either, striding straight over to the radio system and beginning to adjust the controls.
Aunt Su hesitated a moment, but ultimately went over to speak to her son. Ronen tried not to eavesdrop, but nobody else was being very talkative so it wasn't difficult to overhear.
"Could we talk?" Su quietly asked her eldest son. "I feel like every time we see each other there's something in the way."
"Unless you intend to pledge your loyalty to Kuvira, I have nothing to say to you," Junior haughtily replied.
"You have nothing to say to your own mother?" Su said in disbelief. "To your family?
"Family is the one that we choose," Junior retorted. "You taught me that."
"And you've chosen Kuvira?"
"I've chosen myself, and what I wanted. Not what you wanted for me."
"All I ever wanted was for you to be happy and healthy."
"And I am. But you refuse to acknowledge that because I'm not doing what you want me to do."
Aunt Su sighed, half in dismay, half in frustration. "Junior, can't you see that she's using you?"
"Bataar," he forcefully corrected her. "And you're the one using my equipment. Kuvira and I love each other. It's no concern of mine if you refuse to see it. I'm not here to argue with you."
"Why are you here?" Aunt Su asked.
"Certainly not because I wanted to see all of you," Junior muttered. "I had important work that I was doing. If it weren't for Kuvira's insistence –"
"For fuck's sake, Bataar," Yunjin suddenly snapped, and Ronen's eyes went wide. For all Yunjin's rebellions, Ronen had never heard his brother sound quite like that. "Take a chill pill, would you? If we're bothering you so much then go back to the maintenance room and find something to entertain yourself."
Junior scowled. "How dare you speak to me like that? You would never do something so foolish in front of Kuvira. Only now that you have your traitorous family around to –"
"Keep it up and I'll rescind our deal," Yunjin cut in. "I'll tell Kuvira exactly how much you actually helped us find Jeia. We'll see then who has more resolve around Kuvira."
Junior narrowed his eyes, but he smirked and shook his head as if amused. "You think you've got it all figured out, don't you?"
"Maybe not," Yunjin permitted, "but I've got you figured out and that's enough."
Junior snorted. "If that's what you need to tell yourself." He slid off his stool and brushed past his mother, heading towards the doorway. "I have some work I would much rather be doing. If you fly us anywhere, try not to crash us into another mountain."
Yunjin rolled his eyes and, once Junior was gone, returned his attention to the radio, muttering under his breath, "I didn't crash, and it was one time, and ugh he's such a freaking pretentious di –" He stopped abruptly and looked guiltily over at Su, who was just frowning in the direction Junior had gone. "I'm sorry, Aunt Su. I didn't mean to lose my temper. He and I have had to spend a lot of time together recently and we don't exactly see eye to eye on many things…"
"Huh?" Su said first, looking over at Yunjin half dazed, but then she blinked and shook her head. "Oh, no that's okay. I understand. Junior and I don't seem to agree on anything these days either." She sighed sadly and walked over to rejoin the rest of them. Tenzin reached out to clasp his sister-in-law's hand, and she squeezed his gratefully in a brief gesture of support. "Let's focus on finding Jeia."
"I've just about got it," Yunjin murmured. Then, with a final adjustment, "There. Should make it to Republic City now."
He stepped back from the radio, and Ronen was impressed, telling his brother, "I'm surprised you know how to work one of those. A year ago you could barely operate the telephone."
"Oh I'm still hopeless with anything mechanical," Yunjin replied, "but I picked up a few useful things. Apparently being a soldier sometimes requires a little more ingenuity than blasting people in the face with air. Who knew?"
Ronen's lips quirked a little in amusement. "Well I'm glad to hear that your time there hasn't been completely wasted."
They all went quiet as Tenzin began talking into the radio, trying to get into contact with police headquarters. It required just a few more tiny adjustments, one of which Asami suggested, and then a response finally came. It took a while longer for Tosuki's voice to come through, and then Tenzin had to try to explain the whole thing and answer Tosuki's rapid questions. But the Chief agreed to see what he could find on the subject of Chen, and he had to step away to search through some files. They were all on edge by the time he returned, and all of their shoulders must have slumped at once when he regretfully informed them that he didn't have the answers they were looking for. All he could find was that Chen had once resided in the Fire Nation with his wife and daughter, but there was no address and no update in the last several years. Ronen felt his stomach sink, and many of his hopes along with it. Tosuki offered to send them some of his own officers to help, but Tenzin politely declined and shut the radio off.
"What do we do now?" Sora worried.
"We follow what we do know," Ronen suggested. "Mom said to follow the desert west to the Chukan village, so that's where we'll go. We'll continue her search from the skies with Oogi and the airships." He glanced over at Sora, hoping that she would be well enough soon to seek out Jeia's spiritual energy, but Sora was slumped against Yunjin's side again, her head heavy against his shoulder, and Ronen knew that his sister needed more time.
But Sora must have seen him looking, and she frowned tearfully as she said, "I'm sorry. I've been trying to find her, but I haven't been able to sink into meditation yet. My head's just so fuzzy –"
"It's okay," Yunjin assured her, squeezing her closer against his side in comfort. "You just focus on getting better." He directed his next words to the rest of the group. "If Chen is in the Fire Nation, and that's where he wants Jeia taken, it's doubtful they would have made it past Kuvira's border control without being seen. I can contact the southern stations and find out what kind of ships have left since Jeia was taken."
"Can you have them shut the border down?" Asami asked. "And search any transports trying to leave?"
Yunjin nodded. "I think so. I might have to get Kuvira to give the command, but if it's for Jeia I don't think that will be a problem."
"Are we sure that we can trust Kuvira though?" Ronen had to ask.
"What reason would she have for letting Jeia's captors get away?" Tenzin reasoned.
"To keep us focused on something other than her," Su replied. "The longer we're searching for Jeia, the less we know about what she's up to."
"For what it's worth, I don't think Kuvira would gamble with Jeia's life just to keep you off her back," Yunjin offered.
"Do you think she made Junior come along to keep an eye on you?" Asami asked Yunjin.
He shrugged. "Maybe, who knows? But I'm not worried about Bataar. He won't find what he's looking for."
"Well I just hope that we do," Tenzin interjected. "We should start searching. We'll run out of daylight in just a few hours."
All of them were quick to do just that, separating to accompany one another on three different flights. Sora was to go with Tenzin on Oogi, taking a radio with her so that she could keep in contact with the airships. Asami offered to pilot Yunjin's airship so that he could start on contacting the border, and also because he just wasn't a very good pilot and he didn't want to ask Junior to help. Ronen was initially going to accompany his Aunt Su so that she wouldn't be alone on her own airship – she had brought a handful of Metal Clan guards but it wasn't the same as family in a time like this – but as they strode halfway down the ramp of Yunjin's, another sky bison arrived, with Opal at the reins, and Wei and Wing in the saddle.
"I'm sorry," Opal said as she leapt down from her bison – aptly named Leaky – and approached her mother. "I know you said to stay and watch over Zaofu, but I had to come help."
"We couldn't just sit and wait for news," Wei added.
"We had to do whatever we could to help find Jeia," Wing finished.
"That's okay," Su said with a shaky smile, gladly accepting the tight hug Wing gave her. "It'll be good to have the extra help."
Opal approached her cousin, clasping Ronen's shoulder and asking him, "How are you holding up?"
"I'm hangin' in there," he said, gratefully squeezing her hand. "I'm glad you're all here." The more groups to search for Jeia, the better.
And since Wing was going with Su now and Wei with Opal, Ronen decided to return to Yunjin's airship with his brother and Asami. He had a feeling it was going to be another long day and another long night, and he'd feel better with Asami there to help him bear the weight of it.
With Saikhan's direction and Kyuti's speedy flight, they arrived at Chen's home in under an hour.
Just as before, Lin landed Kyuti far enough out from Chen's address to avoid detection. Then she and Saikhan finished the journey on foot. On their way, Lin was filled with so much rage, anticipation, and worry, that she had to distract herself somehow. So she started asking Saikhan about his new life.
"Minya, huh?" she started with, and realized after a pause that she hadn't really asked a question. "How long has that been a thing?"
"I met her about six months after I moved to the Fire Nation," Saikhan answered, and he wasn't looking at her but she could still see the fondness he felt just thinking about Minya. "She worked at the local pub. Had a smart mouth and was tough as nails, knew how to wrangle even the worst drunks. I was interested from the start, but she thought I was trouble. She wasn't really wrong, especially then. I was having a hard time adjusting to my new normal. I was trying, for my kid and for Yumi, but I had a lot of free time where they weren't around. Minya must have had a soft spot for me though because she looked out for me. She eventually straightened me out, and I eventually won her over. We've been together three years, married last spring." He finally looked over at Lin then and admitted, "I wanted to invite you, but there was barely anyone there and I figured you had better things to do than travel down here for a wedding."
"Well, I did rope you into coming to my wedding, so it would have made us even," Lin mused.
Saikhan snorted. "If I remember correctly, it was Tenzin that made me come to your wedding."
Lin considered it. "Did he really?"
"Oh yeah," Saikhan confirmed. "You told me I didn't have to come, 'cause you knew I hated those things, that you were only inviting me as a courtesy. Then Tenzin shows up a few days later and tells me how much you really want me there, that you just didn't want to admit it and make me feel obligated. I figured he was bullshitting me but he was laying it on pretty thick, about how I was one of your most trusted confidantes and it would mean so much to you if I came. So I caved."
Lin smirked and shook her head in disbelief. "I'm not surprised he'd pull something like that, but I can't believe you fell for it."
"Hey, the man has a way with words. I know damn well he's talked you into quite a few things you never thought you'd be interested in. Like getting married."
"Yeah, but see, usually those things turn out to benefit me," Lin joked.
Saikhan shrugged. "Your wedding wasn't as painful as I worried it'd be. I mean, you made us all wait forever and the ceremony was predictably sappy, but afterwards Bumi got me hammered so it evened out."
"Did I ever tell you I almost called it off that day?" Lin asked.
Saikhan looked at her incredulously. "Uh, no. Are you serious?"
Lin nodded. "Oh yeah. I was terrified, didn't know what the hell I was thinking. Told Tenzin I couldn't do it."
"And he still married you?" Saikhan teased.
"Amazingly," Lin snorted.
"Would you have ever believed it when we first met?" Saikhan said with a shake of his head. "Both of us? Married to two of the most patient people in the world and retired before 80?"
"And alive," Lin added, thinking of all the scrapes they'd been in together and how it was a miracle they'd made it to their fifties at all.
Saikhan chuckled. "If someone had told me our futures I'd have laughed in their face."
"You and me both," Lin agreed. "But I'm glad you found peace after leaving the city. I'll admit I was a little worried."
"So was I. That city and that job were the only things I ever knew. I wasn't ready to be retired. It was my own damn fault though. I ever tell you I was sorry?"
"No," Lin said plainly.
"Well I am," Saikhan asserted. "I was acting like an ass. I should have listened to you about a lot of things."
"I didn't make a lot of great decisions myself during that whole mess," Lin conceded. "I understood why we weren't on the same page, but I didn't do anything to address it."
"Hindsight is like that," Saikhan grumbled. "But hey, I heard you retired a few years ago, even after they let you come back. Did Tenzin finally convince you?"
"Oh, no that was a whole thing," Lin huffed. "The politics had gotten worse and Raiko was trying to control my every move. I couldn't stand it, and my family needed me more. I'm glad to be out of it. It's not like we've avoided many battles anyways with the Avatar living with us – well, when she was living with us."
"I heard she's been missing a while."
Lin nodded grimly. "Three years. That's actually why the kids and I were in the Earth Kingdom. We were looking for Korra. Then this happened."
"I guess Chen thought it was a good time to press his luck," Saikhan said with scorn. "Little weasel probably thought without the Avatar around it'd be easier. But he's in for a rude awakening when he finds out what I do to sickos that snatch kids. I'm sure you're probably worried out of your mind, but we're gonna get Jeia back."
Lin had a brief moment to feel honored that, even after all their time apart, Saikhan would still bust some heads on her behalf.
"Where's the rest of the family anyways?" Saikhan asked. "They still in the Earth Kingdom?"
"They're probably all there now," Lin confirmed. "Tenzin was still in the city as of yesterday. It was just Ronen, Sora, Jeia, and me. Sora was with Jeia when it happened. She took a pretty bad blow to the head so I told Ronen to stay with her until she's back on her feet. He sent letters to Tenzin and my sister and Yunjin, so they probably went to help search the area there."
"You think the people that took Jeia might not have left the Earth Kingdom?"
Lin sighed heavily. "I don't know. I don't know what the play is here. We could be walking into a trap for all I know."
Saikhan cracked his knuckles and slowed to a stop, turning to Lin and telling her, "We've walked into a hundred traps before. Let's make him regret this." He pointed over her shoulder. "His house is just down there."
Lin sucked in a deep breath and turned to look upon the unsuspecting house sitting alone at the bottom of the hill, ensconced in an alcove of short trees. It had a small garden in the back yard and flower bushes out front, and it looked well kept, not the sort of dwelling Lin and Saikhan had mostly been used to raiding during triad busts. Lin used her seismic sense to get a read on the place, and frowned as she told Saikhan, "I only sense four people in there. One of them is small, a kid, but I'm pretty sure it's not Jeia."
"We'll check the perimeter first," Saikhan suggested, and Lin nodded in agreement.
When their search came up empty, and as Lin grew increasingly impatient, she and Saikhan approached the front door with little to no apprehensions. There was no one hiding away near the house waiting to strike, and the two of them could easily take the three figures Lin could sense inside the house. The only concern was the child, because Lin was positive it wasn't Jeia, but then who was it? Maybe Chen didn't even live at that house anymore. Maybe she had just followed the lead she thought she had been given the whole way to the Fire Nation for nothing. Maybe that was what the sandbender had wanted her to do.
Anxiety increasing anew, Lin stormed up to the front door without further hesitation and knocked her fist against the door several times. There was a delay, and Saikhan hurriedly pressed his back to the outer wall of the house a few meters down from her, ready to be the surprise attack if needed.
The door swung open, and a confused face peered out, and in the midday light Lin saw it clear as day, and she remembered the face – how could she not when it swam into her nightmares every now and then, every time she relived the siege of headquarters? Even though Chen had only played a small visible role in that conflict, and had been the least of Lin's worries at the time, she still remembered that day in such fine detail that she'd have remembered his face even if he had never said a word to her.
"I'm sorry," Chen said kindly, apparently not recognizing her, "can I help you?"
Without thinking, Lin darted her hand out and grabbed the front of Chen's shirt, yanking him through the doorway and then slamming him back into the wall before he could react. "Where is she?" Lin growled as he yelped in surprise. "What have you done with her?"
Chen's eyes widened with fear as he stammered, "What are you – who –?" It must have dawned on him then who she was, and she watched the realization bloom on his face. "Chief Beifong?"
"Don't act so surprised," Lin snapped, her other hand coming up around his throat. "Tell me where my kid is and maybe I won't kill you."
Chen's whole body was trembling, his heart rate spiked, and he raised his hands in surrender, "Please – I don't know – I don't know what you're talking about –"
"Chen?" a feminine voice called from inside. "Who was at the –"
A woman appeared in the doorway, and when she opened her mouth to scream, Saikhan was there to yank her outside too, clamping a hand over her mouth to silence her and holding her still.
"Please!" Chen gasped. "Do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt my family."
"The only person I want to hurt is you," Lin growled. "Where have you taken my daughter?"
"I knew this day would come," Chen whimpered, as if he hadn't even heard her, teary eyes raised to the sky. "I knew I would have to pay for what I did." He looked at Lin with terror and guilt in his gaze. "I never meant for it to go as far as it did. I swear. I never wanted to hurt anybody. I didn't know – I didn't know –"
Lin was feeling her stomach coil and her ears were ringing. One glance in the doorway showed the other two figures she had sensed in the house, a young girl maybe close to her teens and a boy no older than three clutched tight in her arms. Two kids. Just kids. Worried, confused, traumatized thanks to Lin. The woman in Saikhan's grasp was crying. Chen was maybe the greatest actor in the world or the stupidest criminal she'd ever met, or maybe she was the fool.
Saikhan had better control of himself and questioned Chen, "The kid – if you don't have her, then why would somebody tell us you hired them? Seems unlikely that anyone would know that you're a former adversary of Chief Beifong."
"I swear," Chen replied with a quiver, "I swear I had nothing to do with it. I would never harm a child, and I especially wouldn't risk my own kids to do it. Mrs. Beifong," he said to her desperately, "I'm sorry – I'm so sorry for what I caused all those years ago. I didn't know what my father was – I didn't know – I wish every day that I could take it all back."
"How many people knew that you were after Lin?" Saikhan snapped. "How many would know framing you for crimes against her would work?"
Chen began to think about it, and Saikhan released the woman to run back inside to her children, and Lin couldn't breathe. She staggered back and released her grip on Chen, turning and walking away at a rapid pace. She didn't know where she was going or what she would do when she got there, only knew that she needed to get away, that everything was falling apart and she was falling apart and she didn't know what to do. Heart hammering and breath short, she only made it to the tree line before she dropped to her knees, and she slumped there against the rough bark, hands fisting in the dirt, gasping for air. She had flown all the way to the Fire Nation probably for nothing and she wasn't any closer to finding Jeia. She had failed, for the second time in thirty-six hours, and she was growing all the more desperate and disheartened.
Eventually, Saikhan approached, crouching down next to her with a grim expression on his face, but there was no pity or discomfort at least; she could count on him not to look at her like she was crazy even when she was.
"He doesn't know who it could have been," Saikhan said quietly. "He named a few Triple Threats but we put them all away and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be out, or smart enough to pull something like this off. I could contact the city though, see if we can get a status on them." Lin couldn't respond, just sat still and tried to even her breath, so Saikhan continued. "Chen could just be bullshitting us, but… I don't know. Doesn't seem right. Just a gut feeling. I'm thinking you got that feeling too."
Lin nodded mutely.
Saikhan nodded too. "Do you have a way to contact your family? See if they've found anything else?"
Lin shook her head.
"So we'll go to them," Saikhan decided. "I can call in a favor, get somebody to watch Chen's place, just in case he is involved, or if the people that framed him come by expecting you."
"He was right," Lin mumbled, snorting humorlessly. "The kid was right."
"What kid?" Saikhan asked in confusion.
"Ronen," Lin hummed. "He told me… he could see… I lost control…"
"Hey," Saikhan scolded lightly, reaching out to briefly grip her shoulder, "are you kidding? If anyone has the right to lose it, it's you. Your kid was taken. If it was Yumi, I would have already done a lot worse."
"The sandbender we caught," Lin said in a strained voice, "what I did to him –"
"If he's still alive he got off easy," Saikhan gruffly cut her off. "Come on. Let's keep going. We'll do what needs to be done and find Jeia. You can worry about the rest after."
He was right about that much at least. She couldn't waste any more time, not when Jeia was at stake.
She instantly began shuffling to her feet, using the tree and Saikhan's proffered hand to pull herself up onto unstable legs. She couldn't look at Chen's house as she trudged past. She couldn't linger on her own mistakes. She had to keep going so that was what she did. She went the whole way to Kyuti without another word, and she and Saikhan left.
It wasn't until they landed at Saikhan's house that he broke the silence saying, "Just let me make a few quick phone calls and then we'll go –"
"No," Lin cut in as she came to stand before him. "You've done more than enough. This is where we part ways."
Saikhan shook his head vehemently. "No way. I'm in this till the end."
"I appreciate it, really, but I can't let you do it."
"Look, Chief, all due respect, but you need all the help you can get here, and I'm not about to let you down this time. I wasn't there to have your back during the siege and I'm not letting that happen again."
"That wasn't on you –"
"No, but we lost Lieutenant Jeia that day and nearly lost a hell of a lot more, and this time I want to know I did everything I could. That's what partners do."
Lin reached out and grasped Saikhan's shoulder, ducking her head to look him straight in the eye. "You know what else partners do? Protect each other, and this isn't your fight. You've got people in there –" she jerked her head towards the tiny cottage "– a family that loves and needs you. I've got enough people to find Jeia. If they can't help then no one can. You need to be here, to protect Yumi and Minya. In case Chen really was a part of this or the real culprit figures out I came here. You already did more than I could have ever asked for. Don't make me risk you too."
Saikhan's nostrils flared in frustration and he seemed as if he would continue to argue, continue to push, and in another lifetime, he might have – he would have. But he looked over at his home, where his wife and granddaughter resided, and he hung his head. "Yeah," he reluctantly relented, "yeah. Okay." He looked at her with plain dismay. "But if you need… if you find her –"
"I'll call you," Lin promised.
They clasped forearms and Saikhan pressed, "Take care of yourself."
Lin inclined her head. "I hope to be back."
Then she left before her voice could crack or her resolve could break. She climbed back onto Kyuti and left Saikhan behind, and she flew back to the Earth Kingdom, back to her family where she belonged.
The mysterious spirit was always a step ahead of Korra and Akira, always slipping out of sight around a bend and through shrubs and around tree trunks. She was just there as Korra rounded a corner, and then gone the next second. The two young women were out of breath as they chased after the spirit, and after a while Korra started to wonder if they weren't being led in circles.
Sometime into the pursuit, something else familiar caught Korra's eye, and she skidded to a sudden stop, wrenching her gaze away from her quarry for the first time. Akira must have been right on Korra's heels, and didn't have time to stop, because she slammed into Korra's back and they both went flailing face first into the mud.
Korra had the wind knocked out of her and a fair bit of mud splashed onto her face, but she didn't take her eyes off of what had stopped her.
Akira rolled off of Korra's back with a groan, spitting mud from her mouth and huffing, "Y'know, I've been through some messy situations in my lifetime, but this is really shaping up to be the worst."
Korra absentmindedly reached over to pat Akira's shoulder, but she wasn't actually paying attention so she just sort of swatted the air until she found purchase on some part of Akira, though she couldn't say if it was actually her shoulder. Korra was busy looking at what had caught her eye, and when she finally focused on it, the realization dawned on her and her eyes widened.
"Daifra!"
The emotion spirit of fear jolted at the sudden exclamation, but seemed unsurprised by Korra's appearance. She was crouched down close to the mucky ground, half hidden behind a mossy tree trunk and a curtain of dark hair. She regarded Korra with misty gray eyes, voice and body trembling as she said, "Hello again, Avatar."
"What are you doing here?" Korra asked kindly as she pushed herself up out of the mud.
"I go where I must," Daifra squeaked, casting surreptitious glances on their surroundings.
"And you're needed here?" Korra curiously questioned.
"How many spirits do you know personally?" Akira panted.
"You remember Daifra," Korra said, turning to face Akira again. "You know, when Qinggan, the spirit mother of emotions, came to the Island, and I had to go and find her children?"
Akira squinted at Daifra and then nodded slowly. "Okay, yeah… Which one is this again?"
"Daifra is the spirit of fear," Korra explained. "She must be here for someone. I wonder if it's the same person we need to find."
Akira raised her eyebrows at Korra and then slowly said, "Or she's here for you…"
Korra huffed, slightly frustrated. "This again?"
Akira raised her hands in surrender and said no more.
Korra turned back to address Daifra, but with her mouth open, before she could get a word out, a sharp voice snapped, "Hey!" Korra and Akira both whipped their heads around, and saw the spirit they had originally been following stomping straight towards them, a very particular scowl on her face. "What are you doing?"
Korra blinked, stunned. "You talk!"
"Yes I talk," the agitated spirit scoffed, hands braced on her hips and her milky gaze seeming to bore into Korra's soul. "I was trying to be all spiritual and mysterious but you just had to go and ruin it. Listen, we're kind of on a time crunch here."
"Oh, sorry," Korra said sincerely. "I was just surprised to see my friend here –"
"Yeah, yeah, you can talk to your friend later," the grumpy spirit interjected. "She's been there all day; she'll still be there when we're done."
"Hang on," Akira cut in, slapping Korra's arm in disbelief. "Are you Toph?!"
"What?" Korra scoffed, looking at Akira incredulously and absentmindedly rubbing the sore spot on her arm. "No way. That's not…" Korra trailed off as she took another look at the exasperated spirit with Lin's scowl.
"No it is!" Akira exclaimed in excitement. "I was only a baby when she died but I remember the old pictures."
Korra had seen the pictures too, and the more she thought about it, the hair and the bare feet and the blindness were a dead giveaway. Lin had said that she had spoken briefly to her mother in the Spirit World during Harmonic Convergence, when she was there looking for Sora, but Korra had never expected to see Toph Beifong in the flesh – well, not quite flesh, but whatever she was now.
"You've grown up a bit since we last saw each other," Toph said to Akira, who snorted.
"Just a bit. What are you doing here?"
"I'm trying to lead you two boneheads in the right direction. Now get your butts moving," Toph ordered.
"We'll be right back, Daifra," Korra assured the timid spirit still cowering behind the tree trunk. "Will you be okay?"
Daifra only shook, and Toph groaned, "She'll be fine. She's been around a lot longer than you and your past lives. Let's go. We were almost there…"
"Where are we going?" Akira asked as she and Korra hastened to follow the impatient Toph.
Korra was hoping Toph's answer might shed some light on all the strange happenings in the swamp, or at least reveal who Korra needed to find to sort herself out, but Toph's terse response only served to confuse Korra further, and to make Korra's stomach plummet.
"We're going to rescue my granddaughter."
-My apologies for the late update. The corona shutdowns got wild real quick and I'm currently without a job (movie theaters closed pretty early around here), which you would think would leave me plenty of time to write but instead I spent the first week avoiding it cause frankly I was a little stressed. Then I had the brilliant idea to get a puppy and she's great and all but my god it's been exhausting. But anyways, it's starting to settle a little and I'll probably be out of work for another month so hopefully I can get back to updating fairly regularly. I'm on my phone so much these days I ought to but we'll see lol. I hope you're all staying safe and sane and that this story can provide some entertainment. Until next time!-
