A Legend of Korra Fanfic
By Sakura Martinez (aka SMTsukishiro)
Summary:
A promising engineering student. A mysterious woman capable of controlling the four elements. When their paths crossed, the resulting collision not only changes their lives and themselves, but the fate of the entire world as well. [Korrasami AU]
Author's Note:
I am going to judge, base on the number of Alerts to this story, that you guys are enjoying it thus far. I am really thankful for everyone who is reading this story, reviewing it, adding it to their alerts and favorites lists, and spreading the word about it. This chapter is dedicated to you all!
Also, if you guys are interested in updates, you can see them via #LoKTheSchism in Twitter.
Anyways, read on! And I hope you all like the seventh chapter of 'The Schism'!
Allons-y~!
The Legend of Korra
The Schism
Chapter 7. The Spirit Bastille
The days that followed consisted of careful planning. Whereas before, Asami was simply going through the motions in hopes of assisting the Avatar and being done with her, this time she was a willing and vocal participant. Asami Sato, after all, did not wish for her hard work to be used in such a manner that it would cause the death of the spirits and consequently of the world. And when Asami did something she put her heart and mind into, she did so whole-heartedly.
Avatar Korra watched the humans plan. If she was to be asked, she would rather they charge in with all the force and energy they could muster—which, for the Avatar, meant using the entirety of the Four Elemental Spirits' powers. She had suggested they do so, but the proposal was immediately shot down. And with much gusto. Each of her succeeding suggestions after that were, likewise, immediately turned down and she was asked to leave the planning to them. This the Avatar did not at all feel happy about and had left her to ponder about other things. Thus her thoughts wandered to the humans she was observing.
Korra didn't know what to make of Asami Sato. Opal Bei Fong was an enigma easily solved, unlike the other human. The short-haired girl was a scholar, easily pacified and knowledgeable in things the Avatar thought only the people of Nia Bayou would know. Even Bai Hu was impressed with the knowledge the human possessed that Korra had begun to pass his words to Opal when she asked her questions, or when Bai Hu found the need to correct a misconception.
Asami, however, was a great conundrum. Even with the combined heads of the Four Elemental Spirits, she still could not understand what drove the human to do the things she did; to think the way she did. It confused the Avatar. She wasn't even certain why she wanted to know. It aggravated her…to some extent—which the Four Elemental Spirits found amusing.
It was hard for Avatar Korra to be patient as well, especially when there was a break in the frenzied activities in the dorm room. Korra was itching for action. The more she waited, more of the spirits were being destroyed and converted into a dark, twisted energy. She could feel their pain as though it was hers, sometimes it was all she could do not to cry out for them.
One night, the Prodigy sought the Avatar's assistance and asked her into the small niche Asami had claimed as her work area. Korra obliged. She had nothing else to do and she desperately wanted to get her mind off the spirits' cries.
Asami explained what she needed help with. She wanted to perfect the technology she had stumbled upon; to transform the glove into a weapon where the spirits were not converted and harmed. Though what the actual process was, Korra did not really know nor could she understand when the emerald-eyed girl tried to explain it to her. What Asami wanted from her was simple however: to tell her if the glove—the weapon—was hurting the spirits when she powered it on.
By the time they were ready to set their plan into motion, Asami had finished her modifications of the glove, making it lightweight and compact; Opal had managed to 'obtain' from the Republic City Police Department security plans for the University while it was on lock-down; and Avatar Korra had all but bolted through the door. Though what they were about to do was dangerous, frightening, and crazy (according to Opal), it was something all three of them firmly believed needed to be done.
They didn't know if the people responsible for manufacturing weapons like the weaponized, metallic glove—or whatever else the other scientists and inventors were doing in the Garage—were ignorant of the consequences of using the spirits in such a manner. Uninformed or not, however, there was no other choice but to put a stop to it—even if it meant destroying the budding technology. There was too much at stake to let it continue. As an inventor, this, naturally, saddened Asami.
The trio waited for another scheduled blackout to occur before they set their plan into motion. The darkness that basked the city would give them enough cover for when they flee, or if things were to go awry.
Getting inside the University campus required much effort. Despite being able to summon Vayu's power and allow her to make high leaps, float, and fly, the Avatar couldn't share it with the two humans. It would be too dangerous to do so. Vayu may have approved of both Asami and Opal as the Avatar's companions, but that didn't mean he would allow them to tap into his reservoir of power. And so they needed to find another way inside, not just the main building and the Garage, but the campus grounds as well. It was a manner which made Bai Hu and his power necessary.
They traversed to a currently-empty construction site not far from the Great Republic University. To make sure that Korra did not gather unwanted attention, Asami lent her one of her coats. It was much too big for the shorter girl—the cuffs went past her knuckles, the hem reaching far beyond her hip. To be reminded of her height made it difficult to get the Avatar to wear the thing, but she eventually relented especially when forced to see reason.
Once there, Avatar Korra immediately set to work. She summoned the Elemental Spirit of the Earth's power, and stomped her booted foot in the ground with much force. The moment her foot came into contact with the earthen floor, a large hole—spacious enough to accommodate them without being cramped together—opened up in the ground, tunneling sideways.
They took one quick sweep of their surroundings, before they jumped—one-by-one—into the hole. Once inside, the ground closed up above them, basking them in blinding darkness and deafening silence. A quick flick of Korra's hand kept the claustrophobia and the nyctophobia from settling in, providing light through Suzaku's flames that danced in her open palm. Likewise, Vayu provided oxygen for them to breathe as they traversed the Avatar-made tunnel. Whenever they closed in on the end of the tunnel, Korra would stomp her foot again and the passageway would extend and expand.
Their journey was a relatively quiet one, with the sound of the fire crackling, the earth moving, their footsteps on the uneven ground, and Opal's 'oohs' and 'ahhs' every time Korra used the Elemental Spirits' powers accompanying them. There was no need to go over their plan—which was a straightforward one to begin with, but required immense luck to pull off.
It was a while before they saw anything but the rough underground, but when they did, they emerged in one of the many gardens that populated the wide expanse of the University's campus. The ground gently opened and carefully rose up at the Avatar's command to free them of their concealed trek. It was one of the few places where Opal learned there were no guards on patrol, though it was a bit of a distance away from where they needed to be.
With only the distant light of the stars to guide them, the three, young women ducked and weaved behind hedges and trees, large bushes and concrete barriers to get to their next destination: the Arts Building.
The Arts and Sciences Building was the closest structure in the gardens they emerged from. From there, they would head to the Astrodome, then the Cultural Center. From the Cultural Center, they would circle towards the Administrative Building and finally the Engineering Department's Building. It was such a roundabout way to get to their destination, but it was the safest route they could take if luck was on their side.
It was all luck, really. Or perhaps, divine providence. Sometimes, he couldn't tell which. He had been cooped up inside far too long. He would have been fine with it if not for the presence of the Lieutenant posing as a bodyguard. The Agent had only wanted to step out onto the balcony to get some fresh air. Only when he did, he caught sight of three, moving figures.
He was too far away and too high up to see their features, but he knew they were not one of the guards. As the head of security appointed by Councilman Tarrlok, he was familiar with the security plans and as such was privy to that information. Besides which, the Agent would have liked to believe that his men would not be sneaking around in the University campus, not without his knowledge or his blessing.
The Agent, then, was posed with a question that required his decision: should he let Councilman Tarrlok know of the possible return of those who had broken in days ago, or should he inform the Lieutenant whom he knew would not hesitate to tell Amon of the intruders? It was one of those choices that could have been done in a heartbeat, and yet the Agent took his time. He pondered as he watched the trio make a mad dash to the Astrodome's entrance.
By the time the three emerged from the Cultural Center, the Agent had made his decision.
The moment that they surfaced from the Cultural Center, Asami had grabbed the weaponized glove from her pack and wore it as a precaution. It was too dark to see anything except from silhouettes and shadows—things that played with her mind and her eyes—making her think there was something there that wasn't.
She tested it quickly as they slunk into the Administrative Building. A flick of her wrist encased the glove an intensely powerful electric current, enough to completely incapacitate an attacker. The current encompassed the entirety of the glove, though the full brunt of it was centered on the palm. Another flick of the wrist turned it off.
The Shock Glove—which was what she had taken to calling it in her notes—still needed a lot of work. Asami wanted to be able to expand its range, after all. But for now, it would do.
Their luck continued to hold out for a few minutes more. It was only when they caught sight of the Administrative Building did they see a battalion of guards patrolling. All of them wore the same strange ensemble as those Korra and Asami had fought during their break-in.
"You weren't kidding when you said they were wearing a strange kind of armor," Opal whispered to her friend while they searched for a way to pass the guards without alerting them to their presence. "And what's up with the face masks? Why the need for anonymity?"
The Prodigy could only shrug in reply. She had wondered the same thing. The morning shift guards and the night shift ones were so different from one another. The guards stationed in mornings wore friendly faces and ordinary uniforms. The evening guards, on the other hand, looked more like members of someone's personal army,
They got as far as the basement before the trio resorted to stealthily knocking out the security personnel they encountered. Though in truth Korra and Asami did more of the work. Opal could only incapacitate three guards with a metal pipe before her conscience got the better of her.
"My aunt is going to kill me if she finds out what I just did," Opal had groaned once the coast was clear and they were free to use the elevator shaft to get to the Garage. "And I'm pretty certain the entire Republic City—even the United Republic of Nations—will have a field day if word spread that a Bei Fong has taken to rule breaking."
"Not as troublesome and problematic if they figure out who I am, though." Asami whispered back as Korra called upon the power of the Elemental Spirits to create a spiral path downwards in the elevator shaft. "Imagine what my father would say. I don't think it ridiculous for him to disown me if he learns of my involvement."
"I doubt that," the young Bei Fong said as she watched the Avatar work. "You're the only family he has left. You're the heir to his empire. He wouldn't give all of that away to someone else, regardless of what happens."
Asami did not say anything after that. She did not voice out her concerns about her father's unclear involvement in all of this, nor did she share how strenuous her relationship with her father had been since the accident.
Opal did not notice the silence, however—or Asami's evasive gestures—for in that moment, Korra had finished providing them a way down. Without much goading, they descended the Avatar-made staircase, trying their best to keep their footfalls as soft as possible.
Once they got to the factory's level, Korra bent the metallic, elevator doors open and let the two humans through first. She returned the metal used for their descent back into the shaft's walls before she slipped through as well.
The splendor of the Garage was lost in darkness. Its magnificence was turned into drabness. The earsplitting silence and stillness a stark contrast to the hustling and bustling activity she had witnessed when she was with Professor Noatak and she first stepped foot in the place. Even the incredible inventions she had seen then held her attention nor wonderment no longer. The magic of the Garage, Asami realized, didn't transcend in the blackness. Even Opal was unimpressed by what she saw.
"So this is the Garage you spoke of," Korra said, her curious eyes scanned everything it could. "I had expected something…more from the way you spoke so reverently about it."
"I have to agree with the Avatar," Opal also shared. "I know it might have something to do with how dark this place is right now, but this is kind of a letdown."
"I suppose it's not as impressive as when there are people working in here," Asami had to admit. But that was all she said about the matter, quickly steering the conversation elsewhere. "It doesn't matter right now, though. We have to find whatever it is that is hurting and killing the spirits and be done with it." In a lower volume she added, "And find where they have hidden my papers on the matter."
"Allow me." Korra cracked her knuckles as she spoke, walking to the middle of the Garage's ground floor.
For the second time since they have met, Asami watched all four tribal markings on the Avatar's forearms and shoulders light up as she closed her eyes in concentration. It didn't take long for the ethereal glow to envelop Korra, for small orbs of various soft-hued lights to float around her, and for Opal to gasp in awe and wonder at the sight.
As it was before, the moment Korra opened her eyes everything faded to normal.
The Avatar slowly turned from where she stood. Her eyes—Asami and Opal noticed—were clearer than before. She gazed at each item in the Garage—from the closest to the farthest, the smallest to the largest, and the simplest to the most complex—before settling them on a large, thick, metallic, pillar-like structure.
Its thickness could rival the breadth of a tank. Its height touched the Garage's ceiling with only a few inches to spare. Several equally thick, cylindrical pipes coated one side of the pillar, whilst a large clump of tubings protruded from the others, snaking its way from the bottom to the thing's top. Rods twice as broad as a grown human's arm dotted the gargantuan object at various intervals, the thickest of which sat at its peak.
At the base was a movable joint with large gears where a capsule-shaped, glass container sat suspended by circular, iron restraints holding it in place. Beside it was a console with levers and buttons meant to control the device and wires of different colors and viscosity.
From clear, searching, sapphire eyes to one filled with stormy rage and animosity, the change only took an instant as Korra snarled, "That monstrosity is responsible for the spirits' despair."
"Well," Opal whistled as she attempted to view the machine's zenith. "I think I may need a bigger pipe to help wreck this thing."
"The size matters not," Avatar Korra proudly stated with a confident smirk on her face. "The Four Elemental Spirits and I can handle destroying this abomination."
As soon as those words were uttered, the Avatar took a commanding stance and raised both of her hands, stretching them both towards the hulking contraption. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes in the process. When she opened them again, her eyes were glowing with an otherworldly energy and power that completely hid her cobalt-blue eyes from view. Slowly, her markings began to glimmer to life.
Before Avatar Korra could get to work, however, there was a loud clicking noise and then a big, bright spotlight was shined on them, followed by the rush of footsteps hitting the tiled floor.
Korra lost her concentration, as well as that otherworldly power that enveloped her, and the three, young women whirled around, squinting, face-to-face with dozens of men armed with guns pointed at their direction.
Fear shrouded Asami and Opal's features at the apparent ambush. Annoyance was on Korra's for the interruption.
"Well, well, well, this is a rather big surprise." came a voice Opal and Asami knew too well; a voice that irritated Korra. "When I was told there were intruders, I did not expect them to include the two of you Miss Sato, Miss Bei Fong."
The battalion of heavily armed security guards parted in the middle to make way for a man whose every step oozed with authority.
The strong-jawed man had a dark-brown colored hair tied in three ponytails that almost reached the small of his back. His thick eyebrows were arched, his pale-blue irises cold and calculating. He wore a crisp, black suit, neatly pressed with silver cufflinks, the button-up shirt pigeon blue, and the necktie snowy-white. Even the man's black shoes were polished and shined.
The man turned to look at Korra adding, "Pray, tell, who is this other young lady? Is she a student here as well?"
Korra was about to open her mouth, ready with a colorful array of words for the man who dare mistook her for a human and a student, when Asami subtly ribbed her and glared at her for all that she was worth, warning her to not say anything. Though the Avatar did not appreciate the gesture, she complied with the human's wishes.
"Keeping silent are we?" the well-dressed man chuckled. Despite the seemingly good-natured laugh that bubbled from him, the man's eyes retained its unfriendly demeanor. "Well then, let's move on to another question you might find the need to answer: what are you doing here, trespassing? Did you come to catch a glimpse of the factory? Perhaps you desired to show your friends the things you, yourself, had seen down here, Miss Sato? Do enlighten me. It would be, after all, a shame for the University to lose two of its most promising students."
Korra glanced at her two companions, leaving them to speak for themselves. Both Asami and Opal looked at each other, the latter of the two nodding for the other to speak.
"Councilman Tarrlok," the Prodigy began, voice slightly trembling before she cleared her throat and continued on. "We came here to rectify the mistake that could cost the entire planet to plummet into its destruction."
"A mistake?" Councilman Tarrlok cocked his head to the side.
"Yes." Asami answered, she stared at the man's face for a heartbeat longer before she turned and gestured to the hulking machine behind her. "This machine. It is based from my studies, isn't it?"
"How do you know that? Did Professor Noatak informed you of it?" the Councilman's eyes were mere slits as he spoke in a suspicious tone. "No matter. Things will come to light soon enough. To answer your question, however, yes…this machine was based from your study of the planet's energy. I must commend you on that, Miss Sato. It is such an extraordinary find."
"That study was incomplete," Asami blurted out, unmoved by the Councilman's commendation. "I was unable to express the dire consequences of using the planet's energy—the spirit's life force—as fuel. Please, Councilman Tarrlok, you have to listen to me. This machine should be destroyed, the project abandoned for the sake of the planet."
There was silence after that, though the armed security personnel still had the sights of their assault rifles trained at the trio.
After a while, the University's representative sighed and shook his head. "I am afraid you do not know the full extent of the situation, Miss Sato. The spirits' sacrifice are needed to ensure humanity's continued survival."
"Wait!" Opal finally spoke, taken by surprise by Councilman Tarrlok's words. "You knew that the spirits are what fuels this thing? You knew that they are the planet's energy, it's life?"
"Of course," another laugh from the older man. "Why do you think we called it—the machine and the project itself—the Spirit Bastille? Your friend is not the only clever person in the entire institution and you are not the only one interested in the civilizations long gone and spoken of in myths and legends."
Even during the first time she saw him, the Avatar had not liked Councilman Tarrlok very much. Though that could be said with most—if not all—the humans Korra had met thus far, there was something about the proud-looking, condescending man that left little to no room for Korra to change her mind.
Every word that escaped the man's lips grated the Avatar's nerves further and further until she was seeing red. Asami, who stood close to the Avatar could feel the slight tremble of the other girl's shoulders and the furious heat that emanated from her burning rage. She prayed Korra wouldn't do something idiotic that would put them in deeper trouble than they already were.
"It should not come as a surprise, therefore, that our people know exactly what we were getting ourselves into." Councilman Tarrlok went on. "But the energy conversion is not enough. The spirits' energy is not enough to power the entirety of the United Republic of Nations. There are still kinks to the Spirit Bastille that needs fixing. And even then we would require more than just the spirits we have gathered so far."
"You deplorable man!" Korra finally couldn't keep her mouth shut, shouting for all that she was worth, eyes ablaze with righteous fury. Before Asami could stop her, the Avatar had already lashed out with Vayu's powers, throwing a powerful gust of wind at the Councilman.
Councilman Tarrlok—as well as those who were with him—were surprised by the display of power. They tried to keep themselves braced, but the wind was too strong. Some of them, despite the heavy weights of their armor, were blown back. The multitude of inventions, gadgets, and the likes that were on the worktables, as well as the countless of bound and unbound papers, flew in all directions.
The shock Councilman Tarrlok felt, however, did not last long as he regained his wits and ordered for his men to start firing. They did. But it was a fruitless effort as Korra stomped her foot on the ground, breaking the tiles and allowing the earth to rise up and stop the bullets from hitting any of them.
"Korra!" Asami brought the Avatar back to the task at hand when she said, "Don't focus too much on them. Remember what we came here to do!"
The Avatar nodded. She faced the towering atrocity once more. Another deep breath, a quick blink, and that otherworldly power and energy pulsed through Korra's body, the strange glow coating her eyes once more.
The markings in her body glowed brighter and brighter. Soon it blinded everyone in the Garage. For a moment—no more than a blink of an eye—Asami thought she saw four, strange silhouettes surrounding the Avatar. She couldn't make out what they looked like, but it appeared as though only one of them was humanoid in nature.
Just then, the Prodigy heard Councilman Tarrlok shout over the roar of the wind, and whizz and barrage of bullets, "That girl is utilizing the spirits! She's going to destroy the Spirit Bastille! Stop her! Stop. Her!"
The assault then concentrated on the Avatar. But no matter how many attacked her, the bullets did not reach Korra. Asami and Opal could only watch in awe, covered by the earthen wall, as the Avatar slowly began pulling the Spirit Bastille apart.
Things, however, took a different and unexpected turn when Councilman Tarrlok took from his pocket a rectangular device—a remote of sorts—and pressed one of the dozen of buttons on it. The towering machine then whirled into life, an inexplicable energy spiraling around it.
Post Chapter Notes:
Cliff-hanger alert! And it's a well-placed cliff-hanger too, if I do say so myself (of course, I am quite biased about it)!
Next chapter update in two days again!
Review if you guys have time (and tell me what you think of the story thus far) since everyone's feedback do help me write better!
Until the next chapter, dream on; fly on!