"How well we survive this time of creative destruction, it really is, depends on each of us, on each of us fighting our individual battles of integrity, for integrity."

― Maria Ressa

Chapter 11 - Reveal Your Hands

"I could arrest you right now for breaking and entering without a warrant," Beifong grunted when Korra opened the door. She, Su, and several officers stood on the doorstep of Raiko's home. The chief was disgruntled having received a call from a seven-year-old who said the Avatar and her girlfriend were interrogating Raiko in his home that they snuck into.

"You can yell at me later, Lin. We've got information and evidence," Korra explained, pulling the knife out. Lin's eyebrows shot up, immediately recognizing it.

"I'll be damned. But don't get any funny ideas to going behind my back again, Avatar!"

Korra and Asami filled the others in on what Raiko already revealed. Given the circumstances, Beifong ordered some of her officers to check on Zhu Li and make sure she was protected against any of Tokuga's followers lurking in the shadows.

That left the Beifong sisters, Korra, Asami, three officers, and Hisakata. Two officers were guarding the premises while the chief took the lead in leading another interrogation against Raiko while another watched Buttercup in a separate room. Su, Korra, and Asami waited patiently in the living room. Beifong believed if it was just her with Raiko, he'd be more cooperative. She also didn't want the Avatar interfering with her questioning.

As the adults murmured among themselves about the next course of action, Hisakata was studying a small bookshelf. A photo of the man he threatened and his wife was the focal point. Knicks knacks, relics, and trinkets occupied the other shelves. It appeared each shelf was dedicated to each nation except the Air Nation given it was still rebuilding. A quick scan of the various objects on each shelf instead sent him scampering over to Asami and tugging at her jacket frantically.

"Whistle! He has a whistle!" he chanted, pointing over to the bookshelf.

"What do you mean?" Asami asked confused, turning to look at the bookshelf.

"He has a bison whistle! Didn't the tall, bald man say that his bison whistle was stolen and a few of those airsuits?" The only reason he knew what a bison whistle looked like was because Meelo had shown him a drawing that he'd sketched up and showed him various versions of other ones the airbenders had.

"Show me," Korra ordered, walking over to the bookshelf. Hisakata drug Asami over while Su trailed behind as he pointed to it among the objects. "Son of a bitch!"

The evidence was right there. Tenzin's bison whistle stood proudly among the Water Tribe items. It blended in with the crowd about halfway back on the shelf, but with a more thorough look, easily identifiable.

Too enraged, Korra stormed into the room where Beifong was interrogating Raiko.

"Korra, I told you-"

"He has Tenzin's bison whistle!" She marched over and clutched his chin once again, staring daggers into his beady eyes. "What's your game? Were you so vindictive of losing the election that you've terrorized this whole nation?"

"I told you my game, Avatar Korra," he laughed lowly. "Nothing ever appears as it seems, does it? You've said so yourself, you created that spirit portal, but you can't find a missing person. You can't assist the police in the simplest of tasks despite all the power you wield. You can't drive even with Asami Sato at your disposal. You're just a deviant in all aspects of your profession and lifestyle."

Just barely, Lin caught Korra's elbow to prevent a fist from greeting Raiko's face. Korra shouted profanities at him as Lin forcefully shoved her out of the room. Her profanities weren't met with silence though. He manically laughed at them like he was slowly going insane.

"Go back to Air Temple Island. I don't want you two alone tonight. Round up Mako and Bolin if you want to fill them in. Su and I will be there when we have more information. We're going to confront Tokuga, but you're interfering with Raiko too much. Leave or else I'll get my officers to throw you out."

Biting her lip, Korra complied. She wished Lin would've let her have one punch at him. He didn't deserve common courtesy anymore.

Korra informed Su and Asami of the change and plans and bid Su farewell. Asami had parked the car far away to not arouse suspicions so they had a bit of a walk. Korra was busy releasing all her pent-up anger over Raiko and Tokuga. When she finally took a breath, Hisakata jumped in with a new topic.

"So, you can threaten people with knives, but I can't threaten them with ice spears? That makes you a bit of a hypocrite."

Korra stopped walking and looked down at the boy. "I'm an adult and the Avatar. You're a seven-year-old kid who hasn't quite mastered the technique of ice spears and the right timing for intimidation like that."

He crossed his arms and pouted. "I could've handled him."

"Reminds me of someone else I know." Asami tried to muffle her laugh with her hand, but couldn't. Korra's eyes widen before a dirty look took over. She needed her girlfriend's support right now to help her win this argument. "Baby, I can think of a few instances where your temper got the best of you. Tonight included! You said so yourself that your parents and Katara would have stories to tell me when you were his age."

"You're not helping," she whined, returning her attention back to Hisakata. "Look, doing that type of stuff can get you in serious trouble. We got kicked out by Beifong because I almost punched Raiko in his smug face. You need to think before you do that kind of stuff." She ruffled his hair a bit with a small grin, but was quickly smacked away. "Now come on. You did your job tonight so I'll get you some blubbered seal jerky."

"What's blubbered seal jerky?" he asked with a tilt of his head as he attempted to smooth his hair down.

"You're kidding, right?" The blank stare and shaking of his head caused her eyes to widen again. This time aghast over this crime. "You can't have Water Tribe blood and not have had jerky before! I know just the place for us to pick some up. Asami doesn't care for it so more for us."

It shouldn't have made Asami's heart race, but watching the little boy and Korra interact over something as simple as authentic cuisine from their native land was heartwarming considering he bit her and spit in her eye only days ago. It was also a nice perk she wouldn't have to eat blubbered seal jerky.


Sun barely cracked the horizon. Hues of yellow and orange cast themselves over airbenders mediating to begin their day. Soft melodies of birds, insects, and the breeze met everyone's ears. Lemur chirps and bison grunts began once they were fed. Nothing was out of the ordinary on Air Temple Island besides the intense meeting inside.

The sun continued to rise in the sky as several hours passed. Bickering between several stubborn and hothead individuals overpowered the tranquil environment that Air Temple Island was supposed to be.

To say Raiko was difficult once Korra left was an understatement. With her gone, it seemed he decided to zip his mouth shut and throw away the key. Even the presence of two Beifongs standing over him did nothing to break him. The evidence was all in front of him.

After some further investigation, another knife had been found intermingling with other utensils in the kitchen. It was no kitchen utensil, but a weapon similar to the one found upstairs. Two wingsuits had also been found in the coat closet. Two combat knives, two wingsuits, and Tenzin's bison whistle. The evidence was stacked against him.

What had happened to the former president? For now, Beifong had them both on house arrest and guarded. The press was going to have a field day when everything was released.

Finally, they came to an agreement on how to proceed. They'd be apprehended in two waves in two separate airships. The first would consist of Team Avatar, Lin, and three officers. The second wave would consist of Su, Opal, and a dozen of Beifong's officers and Zaofu's guards. Tenzin and the rest of the airbenders would be on standby in case anything went wrong or Tokuga would try something in Republic City while they were gone in addition to Republic City's regular force.

They were going to end this.

Last time they'd outsmarted Tokuga, but he escaped. They weren't going to make the same mistake again. His partner had sold him out, and they had the edge.

Lin, Su, and Korra were briefing the officers and guards on the plan. Asami had stepped away from the others unnoticed, needing some fresh air. A police and a Zaofu airship hummed in the distance. A strong gust of wind brushed against her, sending a shiver through her body. Unlike the chilling shiver she felt weeks ago, this one was solely based on temperature and not of unease.

Her trademark Future Industries jacket protected her from the elements, but the wind pierced it. She crossed her arms and rubbed her shoulders in an effort to warm up. She wasn't one to get cold easily, but it seemed the sea breeze was stronger and colder than usual. Perhaps it was just her body's reaction to all the emotions churning in her mind.

She had no need for it, but her electric glove covered her right hand. Removing it from her shoulder, she held it out in front of her, palm up. For the slightest of moments, she flicked the electric on and gazed upon the flickering electricity the glove wielded just as she did when her father tried to persuade her to join him years ago.

"Join me, Asami."

"May I say that your father is rubbing off on you right now, Ms. Sato?"

He was right. Her father had rubbed off on her. She was a strategist, revolutionary engineer, cunning businesswoman, and a Sato. However, they diverged on how they used their skills and knowledge in the world. She wasn't putting on a façade for her own diabolical agenda. Her life's mission was to improve the greater good of society, not intentionally pit one fraction of society against one another.

"You're coming back, right?" a meek voice from behind her asked, tugging on her jacket.

She gave him a warm smile. His blue eyes were so unsure of everything. "Yes, hopefully in a few hours. We're going to bring the bad guys down, and soon, you're going to be reunited with Midori."

"Promise?" He held out a little hand. Asami didn't pick up on it, but it was as much directed at her and her friends as much as it was that they'd returned with Midori.

She knelt down on the payment to become equal with him. Only then did Asami realize how small he actually was in the outdoors and light. She was tall, but he seemed ridiculously small for his age in both height and weight.

"We all promise." Despite her reassurance and the acceptance of his little hand, the tiny smile on his lips didn't meet his eyes. To cheer him up and give him extra reassurance, she slipped off her jacket and draped it over his small shoulders, leaving her in a white shirt. "This is my favorite jacket. Consider it collateral. A one for one trade. You hold on to it until we come back with Midori, okay?"

"Yes ma'am." Asami's eyes widen at the term.

"Please, don't call me that. Just call me Asami."

When they returned inside, Hisakata ran off somewhere while Asami rejoined her friends. Everyone had finally been filled in thoroughly, but until they got there and the Beifongs used their seismic sense, they weren't clear what they were going to encounter below Mo Ce Sea.

Walking to the airships, Korra noticed Asami jacketless. She always seemed to have some sort of jacket on whether it was her Future Industries jacket or a professional business jacket.

"Did your beauty finally overheat your body so much that it forced you to forgo any jacket? I'm not used to seeing you without one when you're not in the workshop or the bedroom."

Asami giggled. "Sweetie, that was a terrible line. I gave it to Hisakata as collateral. He seemed to believe we were leaving and never returning with Midori."

Korra grabbed Asami's hand and stopped them. "Wait, so a seven-year-old gets your jacket, but not me?"

Asami shook her head, thinking how cute she was being. "You're jealous a child has my jacket right now?"

"Well, I never get to have your jacket," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away from Asami, pouting.

"Because you're from the South and never get cold," Asami argued playfully. She planted a kiss on the corner of Korra's lips to turn her around. "When we return, you can have my jacket for a week. Actually, we can swap outfits for the week. You get my jacket; I get your parka."

"Deal!"

"Come on, let's go kick some ass then so the week can start quicker."


Battle and confrontation were familiar to everyone. It didn't matter how much experience one had, the quiet before the storm was always unbearable. The need to do something instead of just sitting around and waiting stimulated anxiousness. There was too much time to think about all the possibilities and get bogged down by it instead of just making a decision sometimes. Sometimes, a decision had to be made swiftly to come away with victory and deal with the consequences later.

They said life never was easy.

The storm outside supported that. When their airships were leaving, the storm rolled in faster than Beifong could say 'flameo'. Nowhere in the forecast did anyone mention pouring rain, crackling thunder, or streaky lightning racing across the sky. The appearance of the storm was all superficial, more bark than bite. But it deepened the mood that fell upon everyone as the airship flew closer and closer to the impending area.

Chief Beifong's airship arrived first, and Su's was several miles behind according to plan. The captain brought the airship down as close as possible that was still safe with the rocking waves. Through the rain and darkness, Korra couldn't see the underwater island surface, but remembered it did seem to almost break the surface.

Everyone refused to allow the Avatar to go below by herself this time, but because of the sheer volume of people this time and the fact the second wave did not have a waterbender, Korra, Bolin, and Lin were going under and closing off the entrance and bending the water out of it.

The three of them jumped in, surrounding by a safe bubble. When they planted their feet on the surface, Beifong retracted her boots' bottoms, sensing the vibrations below.

"Hidden entrance in the center with a chamber below. Lots of tunnels, but I see a large central space a few miles away," Beifong informed, studying the surface of the submerged island. "Take your positions."

They made quick work of bending the perimeter of the island up enough above surface to close it off from the rest of the sea. That was the cue for the airship to fly back up and get out of the way. After a few minutes, Korra bent all the water out of the space with the aid of the Avatar State, leaving it relatively dry though some water splashed over the sides. The airship docked by the side of the barricades, releasing a ladder for the others to safely join them.

Beifong pulled back the earth to reveal a large chamber that didn't seem to lead anywhere, but she sensed the branching tunnels. She radioed Su that everyone was going accordingly so far and reminded her to stay safe and be cautious.

They funneled down the metal ladder that led them about two dozen feet down. There were four different tunnels leading to different areas and depths of this underwater hideout. Beifong opened up the opening for the tunnel that led to the large central room she mentioned earlier, but didn't sense anyone yet.

"You're saying it's abandoned?" Korra questioned as they walked into the tunnel.

"No, I'm saying, I don't see anyone yet. There is a limit to my range and there are loopholes to it. If you ever bothered to learn seismic sense, you'd know that."

"You never offered to teach me!"

The tunnel they were in was rough compared to the opening chamber. Badger moles could've carved it out prettier. Sketchy was the single word to describe it. If it wasn't for Mako and Korra's flames, it'd be nearly pitch black. The only source of light besides fire was jennamite hanging on the wall every few hundred feet. A slow drip from a leak in the tunnel seemed to echoed for miles through all the tunnels, taunting them.

They cautiously prowled on in the direction that Lin felt the central room. Nearly half an hour passed, but they were nearly there. Even from afar, they could see a little alcove with bright jennamite.

A honing signal. A spider moth drawn to a flame.

Beifong found it odd that Su hadn't radioed her. For sure they were within reach of each other, but she thought maybe Su was trying to be as quiet as possible since someone may have been watching them. She halted the group and retracted the bottoms again, sensing many more vibrations coming from humans this time.

Except there were two problems.

"We're on our own." She scanned the other seven, finding them confused at the short statement. "Su, Opal, and the others are knocked out towards the beginning of the tunnel. No one else is there so I'm assuming a similar attack as the one on Korra. They're safe and breathing, and no one appears to be in immediate danger." That didn't appease Bolin who began worrying his lip. Lin was concerned about her sister too, but they'd survive.

"Are you sure? One or two of your officers could head back and tend to them," Korra suggested, not wanting to delay any attention they needed.

"We can't afford to lose anyone. We have a much bigger problem up ahead." The chief gestured to the spotlight alcove. "I don't see Tokuga. What I do see are two figures on the other end of the room and at least forty mecha suits, all occupied."

Eight against forty-two. The numbers weren't in their favor, but they were Team Avatar and elite metal benders and earthbenders. No one expected to come out unscathed.

Eight figures occupied the small space before the large room. It was about the size of Korra's old room on Air Temple Island. If this wasn't a critical mission, they could've viewed the luminous, green jennamite in all its glory and casting a shine on everyone. It was quite beautiful, but all a mascaraed for the dangers ahead.

Eight pairs of eyes glanced at one another until seven fell upon the chief. She gave a brief, small nod before turning to the wall and bringing it down, officially announcing their presence.

This room was different than the tunnel. It was a grandiose room with intricate carvings in the wall, jennamite mounted strategically to showcase the craftsmanship. The jennamite ended halfway up the walls which was odd and preventing them from seeing just how high the ceiling was, but what they could see was fairly high already.

Mecha suits glowed in the green light, but took no action to move or attack. On the other side of the room was a raging, magnificent, noisy waterfall display with a small, shallow pool underneath. Two figures in stone chairs admired the crystal blue ocean water, only the stone backs of the seats were visible but Beifong knew they too were occupied like the mecha suits.

The group walked through the middle of the room, vigilant for a sneak attack from the mecha suits. When they were within feet of the stone chairs, they abruptly swung around, but the occupants didn't bother to rise to their feet.

The emblem and robes were all they needed to know who Tokuga had recruited for help.

Dai Li agents.

These two were no different with the rigid expressions on their faces. However, one had seen better days. The left side of his face was burnt and scarred. It was noticeably swelled, indicating it was relatively fresh and hadn't received any proper medical care.

"It's so great of you to join us, Avatar, Chief, and friends," the non-scarred one greeted cheerfully, rising from his seat and acting like this was a reunion between lost friends rather than a confrontation. "I'm surprised it took you so long to find us. Have you finally put all the pieces of the puzzle together?"

Korra wondered what he meant by 'pieces of the puzzle', but didn't have the patience to dwell on it. She stepped forward, getting into a fighting stance and prepared to hold her ground. "Where's Tokuga?"

That same agent laughed bitterly. "Are we not good enough for you, Avatar? Tokuga will reveal himself when he is ready. I'm very surprised neither you nor any of your friends have moved to knock me or my partner out," he goaded with a smirk. "Perhaps you're not as predictable as we suspected you are, though you are abysmal at reading your surroundings."

Korra retaliated with a blast of wind towards him, sending him crashing against the waterfall and gasping for breath on his hands and knees in the small pool. Two of the officers restrained the scarred Dai Li agent in their cables. He made no move to be difficult in his capture, but looked pitiful watching the scene unfold. The drenched Dai Li agent coughed out water and cackled like someone told the funniest joke in the world.

"Oh my, you have gotten me wet. Whatever will I do in this predicament?" He stood to his full height and dodged the fireball launched at his head by Korra and Mako. Beifong and the last officer wrapped him up in cables too and drug him out of the water. He remained standing a few feet away from the water and laughed some more. "You know the funny thing about takeovers? The conqueror always starts at the top. Haven't you ever heard the phrase the parts are greater than the whole? Takeovers require precision, multifaceted calculations, people on the inside. You need a foundation for the rest of the empire to crumble. That's where he failed last time."

"He failed again, and you're all going to be locked up under the supervision of Chief Beifong. Let me tell you, it ain't a pretty sight," Korra warned, getting antsy and ready to fight him.

"Are you sure he failed, Avatar? Success and failure are a trivial concept, are they not? Can you not succeed yet fail at the same time? If I remember the news correctly, you saved Republic City from poison gas with the help of your friends, but at the expense of letting a criminal run free."

"He's done for!" she growled, stepping up to him and yanking on the cables.

He hummed and looked up towards the darkness. A sly smirk formed as lowered his gaze to the Avatar's, looking her dead in the eye. "I suppose we will find out when he is ready, but since I am feeling generous today, I will inform you the Avatar State will not be allowed in your arsenal. If you are such a light-weight and require the Avatar State, those mecha suits will explode via remote detonator. And let me tell you, Avatar, Chief Beifong, that will not be a pretty sight. Please, inspect them yourselves and ask if you can afford it.

All the mecha suit domes were now retracted, revealing the operators. Beifong, Mako, and Korra recognized many of them. Many of the kidnapped victims were before them in mecha suits with dazed looks. Not that Korra believed she'd need the Avatar State, she was more concerned that the operators were at risk of being blown to bits at any instance.

"You're bluffing," she called, putting on a strong front, but she couldn't read him or his silent companion.

"Is that apprehension and uncertainty I see in the Avatar's eyes?" he asked airily. "I applaud your achievements in your young life and tenure as Avatar, but who is really outsmarting the other, right now? We are fair opponents. We could have injured, killed, or blown them up long ago yet we kept them here and provided sustenance. Why you may ask?" He directed a wicked look aimed at the Avatar and Chief. "Living with the memories, the anguish, is worse than death. Do you not have experience with that feeling, Avatar?"

Before Korra or anyone else could respond, the otherwise silent, scarred Dai Li agent whistled a little tune with his head hung low. Another almost inaudible whistle filled the room from above. While everyone looked up to find a section of the darkened roof area had been lit up with a single cage of gagged, restrained hostages and those trapped in mecha suits perked up, straightening out in their seats and eyes dilating to almost completely black depths of the unknown and misunderstood.

Once the whistle ceased, the unscarred Dai Li agent, commanded, "Honored guests, please escort the intruders out of Mo Ce Sea."

The moment the last word left his lips, the room burst into flames as half the mecha suits activated their flamethrowers. The other half charged the intruders. They scattered across the expansive room to avoid the burning flame and being crushed from impact. For the time being, it was everyone for their self. Through the chaos, it was hard to find friendly faces, but everyone was managing on their own.

Because they were occupied with the citizens they were trying to help, they couldn't unleased the full power of their abilities. Even as some of them unleashed elements that were stronger than they probably should have released, the mecha suits kept popping back up like they weren't just met with a boulder twice its size. Tokuga had pit those trying to save the victims against the victims themselves.

Headway was being made on the mecha suits when bolts of lightning from two sources met the roof of the space, rocking the whole room and loosening rock to fall on those below, dust settling over a pause in battle.

The whole top half of the room was now revealed with lanterns and fire, revealing some empty cages, some with explosives, and some with more gagged, blinded hostages. And on top of those cages were more individuals who reigned down and joined the battle. A few of them were more familiar victims, others were unfamiliar so likely other help Tokuga had enlisted from the triads.

Elements were flying every which way. Water. Earth. Fire. Air. How in the world had Tokuga convoluted a plan such as this since they last met? Certainly, the Dai Li and some of the more elite benders here must've been involved in his schemes in addition to Raiko.

But where was Tokuga?

Asami engaged with two earthbenders and a waterbender close to the waterfall display. Somewhere during the chaos, she'd lost the glove that covered her left hand, but the trademark electric glove stood strong and displaying its power against those not in mecha suits. Apparently, they didn't get the memo that she was a master in all combat situations and lethal with just her legs and hands. Who ever said you needed bending to compete on the same level with benders?

The whooshing of a water jet zipped towards Asami who sidestepped the attack and was able to land her glove on one earthbender to render him unconscious. Another water jet zipped towards her. She dodged it easily, but another one was executed perfectly in line with her movement and in combination with rocks, sent her flying into the wall, back slamming against the wall next to the water.

On her hands and knees, seeing the dirt coating her hands, she panted. Rising to her feet, she motioned for the remaining earthbender and waterbender to come at her.

They gladly accepted the offer.

Water and earth flew towards her. Maneuvering through the elements without a single mark this time, she jumped and twisted in the air. She grabbed a hold of the waterbender's shirt, launching her off to the side with a loud bang amongst all the other noises of elements, forces meeting, and the waterfall.

It was almost deafening how loud it was in the space.

That left Asami and the earthbender, a large, burly man. He cracked his neck like it was only the two of them. He bent a barrage of rocks – small, medium, and large – towards Asami and other nearby battles. Asami ducked. Clearly, he was trying to take her head off. Through her evasive ducking and jumping, Asami was able to get close enough to sweep his legs out from under him and shock him.

She looked left and right, trying to find a familiar face, but despite some fallen opponents, visual acuity was still limited. Another strong show of lightning was directed at the ceiling, once again raining dust and rocks on everyone, pausing the action as the dust settled. At this point, the engineer in Asami was worried the hideout was going to collapse on everyone.

Maybe that was what this was. Lure the Avatar, the chief of police, and friends underneath the sea beneath an avalanche of rock and suffocate them by drowning.

It was only a few seconds, but a firebender stealthily approached Asami from behind, grabbed her left hand and set it ablaze. Before she could high kick him in the face, a force out of nowhere swooped in and kicked her sharply in the ribs and jabbed at the sides of her torso. She wobbled briefly then regained her composure and delivered a brutal high kick to the man who'd burn her hand, knocking him flat on his back.

Blisters and smoke rose from the inflamed skin, but there'd be time to cry about that and the intense pounding on the right side of her ribs later.

She towered over the groaning man, looking into his partially open, nearly dilatated eyes showing only a sliver of a ring of deep amber. He was middle aged with salt and pepper hair and wrinkles at the corner of his mouth and eyes. He was a hostage, but he had to be contained to protect everyone else and end this once and for all. She slammed the glove against the shoulder, shooting electrical pulses through his body until he went limp, closing his eyes.

She'd already wasted enough time. She began running towards a mecha suit that was beating the shit out of one of the officers she finally spotted, but a stabbing pain ripped through the back of her right shoulder, stopping her and bringing her to her knees in a silent scream.

Red, hot blood saturated the back of her white shirt. She ground her teeth together and reached with her burnt hand in an attempt to lessen the pain, but if anything, it worsened the pain as the skin of her back stretched and contracted.

Asami twisted around to see who had stabbed her from behind like a coward, but was met with none other than Tokuga a few feet away, blending in with the masses in a baggy black cloak with the hood up.

"It's great to meet your acquaintance again, Ms. Sato," he sneered as a chunk of rock smashed against the wall behind him and a fire blast went off.

"You too, Tokuga." Asami shouted as loudly as she could that Tokuga had revealed himself, but she wasn't sure if anyone could hear her over the rest of the noise.

They engaged in a lethal dance of offense and defense towards one another though it seemed Tokuga was more on the defensive, not making any attempts to attack her. Blood dripped down Asami's back, her body beginning to wear down from the blood loss and physical assaults on her.

She had to continue through the pain.

Asami Sato was no damn quitter.

"We outsmarted you once, we'll do it again!" she growled, just missing smashing his face with her one-two combo.

"You sure about that?" he countered, a knowing smirk on his lips. Finally, he made an offensive attack, drawing his hand and tentacle arm up, drawing the sleeves of his cloak back to reveal gloves. Gloves that looked awfully similar to the one Asami wielded. Asami tried to conceal the fear in her eyes, but the smirk on his face said he saw it. "This is for double crossing me, Sato."

Seeing those gloves ignited a fire inside of Asami. He'd been watching her and Korra. He'd broken into her office. He'd kidnapped and terrorized the United Republic.

He was going to pay.

Running on pure adrenaline, she saw an opportunity to give him a shock of a lifetime against his chest. Right before it met his chest, he grabbed her gloved hand with his own gloved hand, but a shock never came from his end. Through her shocking him, a blade shot out from his glove and dug into her own glove, tearing through Asami's glove and hand.

The blade pierced the area between her middle and ring fingers several inches past the knuckles to her palm. Simultaneously, his tentacle arm mimicked shooting a blade out and sliced along the length of her right side. To seal the deal, he jabbed at her neck, arms, and sides once again, making her nearly limp.

Asami's scream resonated in the cavernous room this time. Pools of fresh warm blood gushed out of her body, pouring onto the floor and tainting the front of her white shirt. Through the excruciating pain and the need for air, Asami attempted to drop kick him, but the room was beginning to spin.

Her body was failing her and trying to save her at the same time.

Tokuga steadied her only to wrap his tentacle arm around her neck tightly, his glove's complex power source front and center against the front of her neck as he turned the power on, immobilizing her. He dangled her over the small pool of water beneath the waterfall. Drops of her blood dripped off her hand and from her side, breaking the surface of the clear blue water, hints of deep red toxifying its purity.

She tried to squirm in his clutches and attempt to make contact with his body to shock him back if her glove still worked even, but the power surging through her limbs and muscles rendered them useless. Asami had been shocked before, but nothing like this. It felt like millions of volts of electricity were coursing through her, much more powerful than hers. She tried looking around the room, but everything not right in front of her was blurry.

A blurry figure approached them from several feet away. She thought it was a friend, but it was that firebender from earlier, standing and watching the scene unfold, and locking his gold eyes with Asami's pleading green ones.

"Such a disgrace you are. Brought down by your father's own invention that you modified once again," Tokuga boasted, tightening his hold on her neck with his malicious smile.

All the veins and muscles in her body were being ripped apart, bursting at the seams. Tokuga's free fingers burrowed into the open flesh on her side, widening the tear, and turning on the power on that glove too, directly electrocuting her from the inside.

She wanted to scream, but couldn't.

She was powerless, bleeding and spasming at the mercy of him. The only control she had was with her eyes, leaving her to gaze into the frenzied eyes of Tokuga, a spiteful smirk on his lips.

"You're coming back, right?"

"I love you, Asami, my beautiful green-eyed princess."

"You are the greatest thing I ever created."

"I love you too. Like I said yesterday, I'm in it for the long haul."

The electrical currents entering her body stopped. She was dropped on her back next to the pool, feet hanging over the edge and dipping into the water. She violently convulsed as the last remnants of the electricity escaped her body. Gasping for oxygen and the scene around her becoming increasingly foggy, she looked to the side to see that firebender on top of Tokuga with a blast of fire escaping his fists.

She felt everything and nothing all at once. What she felt was hot, warm blood viciously seeping out of her sliced right hand, right side, and her right shoulder and pooling around her on the cold, hard, dirty ground.

She felt the pain, but couldn't feel her limps.

Her entire body felt like it was on fire, shooting through her entire body. The sharpest pain localized in her side and right hand, tormenting her, but because she was a fighter, her body was fighting against its innate instincts to go under to preserve itself.

She could hear the elements crashing and colliding with one another.

She could hear shouting and the pounding of footsteps nearing her.

She could hear her name from her friends and love of her life.

But her body surrendered to its last line of defense.


Posted: February 18, 2021

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