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:
What's up, everyone? I hope you're all doing well.
This is another long-ish chapter (around six-thousand words), and I hope you all enjoy reading. As always, if you can, do write a review and share your thoughts about the story thus far. :D
Allons-y~!
The Legend of Korra
The Schism
Chapter 16. Escape From Republic City
There was smoke and steam everywhere. Small debris, chunks of stone and earth from the ceiling and walls, coated the ground. Some of the pipes that once clung to these walls and ceiling had been bent out of their normal shape, showing just how powerful the explosion was. Tremors continued to rock the underground connection of tunnels at regular intervals, causing loose earth to rain down again. The blaring sound of alarms, coupled with the mechanical female voice issuing advisories and warnings, became the soundtrack of their harried escape.
Asami thought their retreat with an unconscious Avatar slung on their shoulders back at the University was a difficult one. Under their current circumstance, that seemed like cakewalk despite the fact that she didn't have someone heavy, wounded, and weak to carry, unlike Mako. Even though that was the case, the Prodigy found herself slipping and losing her balance more often than the Mercenary did. So much so that Chief Bei Fong had kept close to her and was quick to assist whenever she showed even the tiniest sign of losing her foothold.
The need to hurry was great—and so was the fear of being buried alive underneath all the falling rubble. Yet, despite the claustrophobia setting in, Asami kept an even pace while keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of the missing Avatar. Korra may have abandoned them to search for Opal by themselves, but she was not willing to leave the strange girl behind, especially when the Catacombs had become a lot less safer than before and she knew the Avatar was in even greater danger still.
As they rounded the corner, backtracking their earlier path, they came across a hall filled with smoke thicker and denser than the rest. Though feeling weak and dizzy, Opal still managed to be observant of the things her rescuers would have overlooked without her, like where the smoke was coming from—a thin strip hallway—and the prone figure lying haphazardly close to it (though she had to squint and look really hard to see that, yes, it was, indeed, a person).
Opal had counted the figure as one of the poor saps who had chosen to lend their services to that 'sorry-excuse-of-a-man, Tarrlok' and had now paid the price. It was only when they were passing close to the unmoving mound did she realize it wasn't just some random stranger.
"A-Asami!" she called out to the girl walking in front of her, supported by Chief Bei Fong after almost falling on her rump again.
The urgency with which Opal had spoken caused not only Asami to look at her but got the attention of her Aunt Lin and Mako too.
"Is there something wrong, Opal?" it was Chief Bei Fong who asked.
Unable to find her voice, having the words filled with fear and worry lodged in her throat, all the Historian could do was point at the direction of the unmoving person slightly buried in rubble.
Her three rescuers all turned to follow the direction she was pointing at. It took a while for anyone to realize what, exactly, they were looking at. When they did—when Asami did—she immediately rushed forward, clambering through fallen debris.
"Korra!" she cried out, hoping her words alone would rouse the Avatar as she made her way towards her, believing her to be merely unconscious. Once close, she tried to get a better look of the dark-skinned girl, searching for any injuries that might need immediate attention. Apart from the bruises on her face and her disheveled appearance, she didn't found any. Relief flooded Asami. For a moment, she though Korra had been fatally wounded.
But as the Avatar began to stir from her unconsciousness, coughing and gagging as her eyes fluttered open, that relief turned into annoyance as she remembered Korra had abandoned them. If she were to be questioned, however, the Prodigy didn't know whom she was more frustrated with: herself for being so worried and concerned despite what had happened, or at Korra for making her feel that way.
"Asami...?" Korra looked lost and confused seeing the Prodigy. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming, or hallucinating and she reached out, intent on seeing if the girl in front of her was real.
Before she could press her hand to Asami's face, the porcelain-skinned, young inventor took hold of her wrist, squeezing it. That gestured quickly pushed any remnant of sleep away.
The two stared at each other, unsure of what to say. Well, Asami knew exactly what to say. She also knew she wanted to slap—maybe even punch—the other girl. But she didn't want to aggravate whatever injuries Korra might have.
"Are you hurt?" Asami had asked as she helped Korra up.
The Avatar shrugged, "A little bit. Nothing I can't handle, however."
Upon hearing that, Asami nodded, feeling relieved, before slapping the Avatar across the face, the concern she felt for Korra now gone and replaced by anger. It wasn't something Korra expected Asami to do, and she wasn't the only one surprised by the Prodigy's action.
"W-What was that for?" Korra sputtered, glaring at the taller girl as she held onto her stinging cheek, rubbing it gently in hopes to ease the pain.
Before Asami could say anything—before she could throttle the Avatar for even asking (Really, how clueless is she?)—another explosion occurred that quickly snapped their attention back towards something more urgent.
"We really have to get out of here, now!" Chief Bei Fong shouted over the noise. "We can discuss the stupidity of your actions later, Korra."
Dusting herself, Korra wanted to argue that she did not make any kind of poor decision. But one look at the humans made the Avatar clamp her mouth shut.
"Let's go, Avatar." Asami's tone was cold and it made the chocolate-haired girl wince.
They resumed walking and Asami had stuck by Korra, helping her as she sluggishly traversed the dangerous terrain with them, though the Prodigy kept her eyes forward and had not looked at the Avatar since.
What is she even mad about? Korra wondered. Should she not be happy they had managed to accomplish rescuing Opal? Or is she frustrated that our paths crossed once more? Should I ask? Is it alright to ask what has gotten her all grumpy?
The Avatar puffed her cheeks. She really had no clue how to deal with...whatever it was that needed dealing with in regards to the emerald-eyed human, or if she even need to deal with it in the first place. She still didn't have any definitive answer as to why Asami's cold demeanor was affecting her. In the end, Korra just shook her head, deciding to question Opal about it later. Surely the other human would be willing to supply her with the knowledge and expertise she lacked in that field without being violent.
They continued their way back, keeping alert for any of Tarrlok's hired goons, knowing that they would be meeting some of them soon if the blaring alarms had anything to say about that. They were right, of course. And it was made apparent just before they got to the place they had parted ways with Chief Bei Fong's men.
Instead of a squabbling Lu, Gang, and Gommu—like the Chief of Police had expected to hear as they rounded the corner—they were greeted by heavy footfalls and the muffled voices of the Councilman's strangely-masked people. Quickly, the group stopped on their tracks and pressed themselves near the walls to avoid being seen.
"Have you found them yet?" one of the masked men—their leader—asked.
"Not yet," came the reply from the one beside him. "There's no word from our guys guarding that large machine either. I think they might have been caught in the blast."
"Whether that's the case or not, it doesn't matter." the leader of the group said. "What matters is securing the Spirit Bastille. Councilman Tarrlok will have our heads if that thing was destroyed in that blast."
"What about these guys? Should we just leave them here?" another voice chimed in.
"No. I know these men. They're under the command of the Chief of Police. We'll let the Councilman deal with them. He could use them as leverage."
As the men continued to talk, already Chief Bei Fong was thinking up ways to make those men pay. At the same time, Asami was putting two-and-two together: about Korra's disappearance earlier and the explosions that were rocking the entire underground network.
"I am going to make them choke on those words," growled the older Bei Fong, getting ready to fight the dozens of men barring their way.
Opal was surprised to hear her aunt say that.
"Aunt Lin, you can't be serious!" she hissed. "You can't take them all down by yourself!"
"I'll help," Asami volunteered, surprising Opal yet again. Even Korra was taken aback wondering what was it with this girl who seemed to enjoy throwing herself in danger.
"Thanks for the offer, Miss Sato, but I'll have to decline." the Chief of Police said. "I cannot, under good conscience, put you in any more danger. Your father will not be pleased about this, and frankly I would rather not deal with him suing my ass off."
Asami frowned. It wasn't as if her father would know. "And I can't let you fight by yourself knowing there is something I can do to help and also knowing that I am partly to blame for this mess."
The argument done with hushed voices went on and on, so much so that Korra was certain they would be found even before a consensus was reached. The Avatar couldn't help but think of how stupid it all was. They were the ones who were eager to get out, stating it was unsafe to stay. Now, however, that fact seemed to have been forgotten.
Korra took a peek at the hallway overrun with Tarrlok's men, counting their numbers in her head. They were not as many as she had first thought, and they didn't look as heavily armed as the men she had encountered in the room with the Spirit Bastille.
I could take them on... She thought to herself as she began closing and opening her fists. Perhaps this is a good time as any to see what it was Alignak and the others had said they left me with.
Avatar Korra, of course, already had an inkling what it was. She could feel it coursing through her veins—the little bit of power left by the Four Elemental Spirits. She wanted to know just how strong—or weak—that power was.
Looking over at the arguing humans—Opal and the Mercenary being roped into it as well by that time—the Avatar heaved a sigh before shaking her head. She was still hurting all over, but she sucked it up and decided to just get things over and done with.
Cracking her knuckles, Korra slipped out of their hiding spot and strode confidently towards the group of masked guards. They did not notice her at first, and the ones who did were the three RCPD Officers tied up and lying on the ground. Their eyes widened at seeing her, quite possibly thinking she had lost her mind. Korra paid them no mind. Asami and the other humans could untie them later, after she was finished with the Councilman's hirelings and when the humans' arguing was done.
When her opponents finally did take notice of her, the Avatar had poised herself for battle, taking on a wide stance that would enable for fluid movements.
"Hey!" one of the guards said, pointing at Korra. "That girl matches the description from the Councilman's order!"
"What are you lot waiting for?" the leader of the group said, unsheathing his weapon—twin electrical rods that quickly came to life. The people under him all followed suit, readying to apprehend the young, sapphire-eyed woman before them even before their commanding officer bellowed, "Get her!"
At the bellowing cry of the men charging at the Avatar, Asami and the others' head snapped into attention, turning to the direction of the noise.
"Korra!" Asami and Opal shouted in unison.
"What the hell is that girl thinking?!" Chief Bei Fong moved to support the outnumbered Avatar, as did Asami, Opal, and Mako.
All of them, however, stopped dead on their tracks when they saw the grinning Korra, fighting with such vigor. She fought ferociously. Most shocking of all were the glowing markings on her arms and forearms, throbbing with lights of various hues, as well as the burst of flames erupting from her kicks, the blast of air that accompanied her movements, the stream of water she used as a whip, and the blocks of earth that shot up to knock some of the guards to the ground.
Those who had never seen the Avatar in action ended up having to pick their jaws from the ground. For Asami and Opal who had witnessed her fight with full power, it was still a sight to behold.
"She got them back..." Opal gasped.
Asami nodded. It was safe to surmise that Korra was, indeed, responsible for the explosion; that she had left without a word in order to pursue her own goal. Though how Korra learned of the Spirit Bastille's whereabouts, Asami could only guess.
As she watched the Avatar mow down the men attempting to contain her, she began to notice little things about the dark-skinned girl's way of fighting. There were moments, quick ones, when there were gaps in her movements, small openings that seasoned fighters would have used against her. Judging from the passing expression Korra would have when these occurred, it was obvious Korra knew about it and she would take a different stance to make up for it.
Asami wondered if Korra was injured and had just been good with hiding it from her. By the time she had come to a conclusion that it wasn't Korra's injuries that were to blame, the battle had already ended and Korra had left her enemies in an unconscious heap of broken bones and ribs.
The Avatar looked around, and once certain there was no one left that threatened her safety, she exhaled and the glow surrounding her disappeared.
"I can only push so far, huh..." Asami heard Korra mutter, a thoughtful expression on her face, as she and Opal moved to the Avatar's side.
Opal clasped her hands together, beaming as she repeated her earlier observation. "You can bend again! This is great, Avatar Korra!"
The darker-skinned girl turned to face them, the sad smile she had on her face was not at all what Asami nor Opal had thought to see.
"You humans have finally stopped bickering amongst yourselves, I see," she nodded, that sad smile quickly replaced by a wry one. "I was getting bored with the whole thing so I decided to do something—" she looked around at her handy-work, "—productive."
It was at that point the Chief of Police and the Mercenary joined the three, the latter of whom had went to work untying Lu, Gang, and Gommu who were all sporting the same wide-eyed look of wonder, fear, and confusion as their Chief of Police.
"H-How—? W-What—?" it was understandable, the surprise and the inability to form a proper sentence, that had gripped Chief Bei Fong. Turning to her niece, she asked, "Is this what they meant by her being 'the Avatar'?"
Opal nodded. "Partly, yes. Being able to bend the four elements is something the Avatar can do, but that is not all there is to the title."
"Well color me impressed!" Gommu barked, showing off his brand of a toothy grin. "I guess we should apologize to ya, missy. Ya weren't lyin' to us after all!"
Korra grinned back at the old man. "Of course! I never lie."
"You only withhold information," Asami added, just loud enough for the Avatar to hear.
Sapphire eyes met with emerald ones, the latter having a challenging look as though daring the former to argue otherwise. Before Korra could speak, she was interrupted by another round of explosions—a reminder of the urgency to escape.
"We can save the reunion, as well as the explanations, for later," Mako voiced out. "We're still far from any exit, and if we don't hurry, we'll end up being buried here. I don't know about any of you, but I don't intend to die any time soon."
"Leave that to me," Korra volunteered herself. Under normal circumstances, she would not have been generous. But considering what Asami had said before, she had no choice but to offer assistance. That, and she didn't want to fuel the Prodigy's frustrations towards her.
The Avatar didn't wait for anyone to acknowledge having heard her offer. She immediately set to work. Taking a firm, wide stance—with one foot leaning forward and the other carrying most of her weight—Korra dragged her front foot in a wide circle, twirling in place, before moving her hands in an arc that ended with her palms reaching upward.
As she was moving—her movements acting like some sort of incantation to a spell—the earth rumbled, and the place they were all stepping on began to rise up, forming an earthen pillar that reached upward.
Those who were nor expecting such a thing to happen let out sounds of surprise (none would admit that they screamed, however) as the speed of their ascent increased, nor when it seemed like they were about to be crushed by the ceiling, only for it to open up and provide them with the escape route they needed, straight above ground.
The entirety of Republic City was in a panic thanks to the powerful tremors that were shaking the capital in the middle of the night. No one knew the actual cause of these tremors, save for the President and his people, as well as Councilman Tarrlok, who had all heard of the chain of explosions that occurred in the Catacombs.
Though the President and his council were confused as to what caused these powerful blasts, Councilman Tarrlok was not. He had yet to see the extent of the damage, but he knew that Asami Sato and that girl, Korra, was to blame. He could care less about them and about Opal Bei Fong, however. What was important was the status of the Spirit Bastille—a report he was still waiting to receive.
It was fortunate, really, that President Raiko had asked the esteemed Councilman to meet with him and his people—to explain to the Chamber of Council, his cabinet members—the basics of the project before taking them to the test site. Had he declined and had asked Raiko and his people to head to the site instead, Councilman Tarrlok would have had to deal with the death of the President and his people. It was not something he would want on his plate.
A uniformed woman—one of the Great Republic University's hired guards who was also working as a part of his private army—made her way towards him. Her face was unreadable, and she made a curt nod, a show of respect to the President, before turning her attention to the Councilman.
"Sir," the woman began, voice hushed as the news she was to share was of the sensitive kind. "I just received word from our people down at the Catacombs. It is as you have suspected, they came for the Bei Fong Girl."
"And? What about these tremors? The explosions?"
The woman hesitated for a second, but one look at her employer drove that feeling away. She cleared her throat, "The explosions were from the area where the Spirit Bastille was being kept, sir."
"What?" the Councilman roared, causing the Republic City bigwigs that were with him to turn their attention towards him and the woman he was with.
Curious, President Raiko asked, "Is there something wrong, Councilman Tarrlok?"
Composing himself, Councilman Tarrlok replied, "No, it is nothing. Please, excuse me for a moment."
He did not wait for the President to say anything. Motioning the uniformed guardswoman to follow him, the two walked a distance and ensured no one was within earshot before Tarrlok allowed her to continue her report.
"We don't know how they have managed to get to the Spirit Bastille, sir, but they did. Likewise, it is far too early to know the extent of the damage they had wrought. The last communication I had with our people had them reporting the collapse of tunnels eight through thirty-three."
The current head of the Great Republic University mentally mapped out the location of the tunnels. With each passing second, the crease of his forehead deepened. Though the Catacombs was deep beneath Republic City, the tremors proved the power behind the blasts, so much so that he wouldn't be surprised if sinkholes appeared at a number of locations around the capital. Most of them would be centered around the Dragon Flats Burroughs where most of the higher-numbered tunnels were located.
The President will have his hands full. He mused. And so will I, thanks to those meddling children. But maybe...maybe I can use this to my advantage. Raiko would certainly demand an explanation for what had happened...if the explosion had originated from the machine, he might even become skeptical of it and blame this all on me, pulling the plug on the whole project. I cannot let that happen!
"Sir?" he had been lost in his thoughts for long that it worried the silver-eyed woman he was with. She hoped the famous temper of her employer wouldn't rear its ugly head on her.
"Captain Xi," Councilman Tarrlok looked straight at the woman, "How fast can your men investigate the Catacombs?"
"We are already mobilizing Squad Six and Ten, sir."
The Councilman had come up with a plan, one that would keep him in the clear and keep President Raiko's faith and support in him from wavering. It was a devious plan, and he loved it.
"Have them erase any traces of Miss Bei Fong's captivity, and plant evidences of a terrorist attack. Tamper with our security feed, if you can, as well. If our plan to capture that girl—Korra—with a live bait didn't work, then perhaps seeking the aid of the United Republic Forces might, especially when we lay all the blame for the destruction of Republic City on her and her cohorts."
They emerged at the heart of one of the many residential sectors of the Capital. It was dark, and eerily quiet. The windows of all the houses, as far as the eye could see, were boarded up. There were movements behind closed doors that hinted the residences were not abandoned. The curious and wary gazes of the few who dared peak through the blinds were telling. The residents were afraid.
"Just our luck," Lu muttered after having composed himself from the (horrifying) experience. "We're still in triad territory."
Chief Bei Fong nodded, trying to hide the fact that she felt just about ready to throw-up. She was familiar of their surroundings as well. "We can't stay here for much longer. This place is dangerous enough even in broad daylight."
"Dragon Flats Burroughs," Gang whispered to Korra who looked curiously around. Out of all of the humans she was with, the stoic officer and Opal were the only ones who wasn't feeling nauseous from their experience of being shot up from underground. "It's an active Triple Threat territory, much like the port is to the Red Monsoons. We've tried several times to clean them up, but to no avail. They number far too many for us to handle without the much-needed support from the government."
The name was familiar to Asami, who quickly perked up upon hearing it. Her father had told her stories of living there as a boy before his family moved to the Fire Nation. She knew his house was still there, and it still belonged to the family. Curious as she was to see the place her father had grown up in, now was not the time and she had to stymie her interest.
"Where to now?" Mako asked as they quickly moved away from the center of the road after Korra had flattened the ground back to normal.
No one, at that point, had a definitive answer. They knew Republic City was no longer safe for Korra—and by extension Asami and Opal who had been tied with her—and that the Avatar needed to return to Nia Bayou, but as to how to proceed, no one had actually thought about it. Whatever plans Asami and Opal had before—whether the use of a boat or an airship was involved—was moot, even with the clearance from the Chief of Police to back them up.
"East." Gommu was the one who broke the silence that had descended upon them soon after the Mercenary's question. Heads turned to his direction at the suggestion. Before another word was uttered, however, the ground beneath their feet began to shake furiously.
"Are you doing this?" Chief Bei Fong asked Korra, though her tone was more accusatory than questioning.
Korra shook her head, wondering why the old woman thought so. "No. Why would I?"
"To flaunt this bending of yours?" Mako supplied, which earned him a sharp glare from the wolf-tailed girl. Seeing the deathly look being directed at him, the Mercenary quickly appended his statement. "Or maybe not."
As they wobbled their way to a much safer location, devoid of any structure that may topple on them, the ground began to shake harder. Soon, they were no longer the only ones out on the streets. People—panicky and worried people—trickled out of their houses to wait out the tremors.
And then they heard a loud, thunderous crack. It was soon followed by an even louder rumbling sound. Heads whipped around searching for whence the noise came from as it grew in volume and number.
A second passed when everyone had their breaths held; when not a soul moved.
What happened next was something those who survived that night would never forget. For what followed that stretch of silence was the screams of people.
At first, no one knew what was happening. They thought that the Triads were attacking, and so some of the townsfolk returned to their homes. A few others—which included the Avatar and her strange band of humans who had stumbled their way close to the border of the Burroughs—witnessed, however, the earth cracking up and falling into the dark abyss that had once housed a part of the Catacombs.
As the earth began to break apart, the screams of people falling to their doom pierced the night.
Asami watched horrified by the sight, but she couldn't take her gaze off it as Opal had. It dawned on her the cause of the misfortune that befell that part of the residential district. The underground explosions and the cave-ins had caused the ground to become unstable. Glancing at Korra, the Prodigy could tell she knew it too though it was hard to tell what the Avatar was thinking of in that moment.
Does she even care? the brilliant, young inventor wondered.
"We have to leave. Now." Korra uttered those words in a way that left no room for debate. She turned to Gommu and asked the homeless-looking man, "Why east?". It was as though the conversation hadn't been interrupted.
"Korra!" Asami was appalled. She had learned the other girl could be callous, but she didn't think Korra was heartless until then. "People had just died. They're still dying! Can't you hear their screams? Do you not feel anything for them at all?"
The Avatar's blue eyes looked at her. In them was cold fury that was like a blade of steel cutting through whatever else the Prodigy could have said.
"And what would you have me do?" Korra's voice shook, her tone raised just as Asami's had been. The mark of fire glowed red on her dark skin and as cold as the emotion was in her eyes, there was a furious—almost burning—heat emanating from her that made the humans take a step back. "Rescue those humans? Mourn for those that have been lost? I can do neither. And I am telling you all now, every moment wasted on these things I cannot change is another moment lost for keeping this world from plunging into chaos and ruin!"
"What do you mean?" Opal asked, braving the Avatar's temper. "You got the Elemental Spirits back, didn't you?"
The heat died down and the icy look in the Avatar's eyes disappeared. Her shoulders sagged, and even before she gave her answer, the Prodigy and the Historian already knew what it was.
Another round of silence, punctuated by the loud, agonizing screams and heart-wrenching weeping around them. Once again, it was Gommu who broke it.
"I don't really get what yer all talkin' about with these Elemental Spirit o' yers and whatnot, or about this whole business about da world endin'...but goin' east'll give ya a lot more room ta loose anyone who might try ta pursue ya."
"Gommu's right," Chief Bei Fong cleared her throat. She couldn't help thinking wryly of the mess her niece had managed to rope herself in. Su's not gonna be happy about this. "It's still United Republic territory, but you can find ways to get to the other nations from there, and whatever consequences our actions might have might take a while to reach those places."
Korra thought about it for a while. Her current strength kept her from using Vayu's power to take flight or Alignak's to walk on water. Under her current state, swimming all the way back to the Southern Water Tribe was also out of the question. Realizing and admitting that, she found she didn't have much of a choice.
"East it is then." she nodded. "Any specific direction to quickly get to the Southern Water Tribe?"
"Don't worry about that," the Chief of Police said, serving to confuse the chocolate-haired girl. Expounding on her statement, Chief Bei Fong added, "I'm sure Miss Sato is familiar with the lay of the land. Opal is also a fount of knowledge. They will be able to help you make your way safely back to this Nia Bayou of yours."
Eyes wide with surprise, Korra asked, "They're coming with me?"
"Miss Sato has given me her word, that she would take Opal away from here. And if she still intends to help you, then..." Chief Bei Fong let her words hang in the air, looking at Asami and pointedly ignoring the look Opal was giving her, as well as the young historian's muttering of making plans without her consent.
Korra turned her attention to Asami, who had her arms crossed and who had taken to looking at anywhere else other than the Avatar.
The raven-haired girl would have kept silent for much longer, but she found she could not stay silent under the gaze of her companions. With a sigh, the young, aspiring engineer finally faced Korra and said, "I said I would help. I have given my word. That much hasn't changed."
This was not something Korra was expecting, not after blowing up as she did. She was grateful that Asami honored her word that much. Had the taller girl's upbringing been different, Korra had a feeling she wouldn't have gone through with it and would have broken up whatever engagement she had made with Republic City's Chief of Police.
As thankful as Korra was with the company and the help she would be having, all the Avatar could say at that moment was,"Very well. Then I will leave our course to you, Asami. If there is nothing else, we should go."
Korra looked expectantly at the humans, waiting for someone to throw another concern at her. When none of them spoke to give suggestion or criticize the lack of a proper plan, the Avatar nodded and turned around to leave. She wasn't sure if the direction she was taking was the correct one, but she figured Asami and Opal would follow her nonetheless.
Asami, for her part, gave the Avatar a withering look.
"Couldn't she wait until we've properly said our goodbyes?" she muttered under her breath. She then gave Opal an apologetic look and said, "I wish you have more time to speak with Chief Bei Fong, but Korra..."
Opal shook her head, giving Asami a sympathetic look, before she winced. Her wounds were starting to hurt once again. "Don't worry about it, Asami." To her Aunt Lin, she said, "Please take care of yourself, Aunt Lin. And, whatever you do, please don't tell my mother about any of this."
Chief Bei Fong snorted and rolled her eyes. "That's easier said than done. Suyin is not the easiest person to hide things from. I'm certain she would figure things out even if I lie to her. But—" she added, seeing the pleading look on Opal's face, "—I will try to keep her from doing something as reckless as what you've done. I can't make any promises though."
"That's fine," the Historian visibly brightened and immediately went to hug the older Bei Fong. "Thank you."
Chief Bei Fong returned Opal's embrace and lingered that way for a second longer before she let go and all but pushed the two young women on their way.
"Keep an eye out for each other," she told them. "Keep each other safe."
"We will," the two answered in unison.
They were halfway to where Korra had stopped to allow them to catch up with her when Asami noticed that Mako had not moved to join them. She turned around, ready to ask what was keeping him, when the Mercenary shouted, "We have to part ways for now, Miss Sato. There is something I have to accomplish here first. When I am done, I'll come find the three of you. I still need my payment, after all"
Mako didn't wait for a reply. He gave all of them a swift nod before turning back the way they came, disappearing under the cover of darkness and shadows.
"So it's just the three of us once again," Opal pointed out the obvious, her breathing was ragged and she did so with her mouth rather than her nose. The bruises on her face had started to darken and were swollen. The blood that coated her wounds—wounds that were in danger of festering—had dried up, though it looked as though some were opening again.
The Avatar felt sorry for the Historian. What's more, an emotion she seldom—if never—felt bubbled up within her at the sight of Asami's friend: guilt. It was such a strange emotion, even made stranger that she would actually know what that feeling was without the Four to nag her about it.
Korra still did not know what to say to Opal. An apology didn't seem sufficient enough, and it wasn't as though she was good with giving comfort to another to begin with. She didn't even know why she felt the need to say anything to the human. What, exactly, would her words do? Surely it would not erase what has been done to her; what Opal had to go through.
But there was one thing she knew she could do for the human. But that would have to wait until they were safely out of the city. She hoped Opal would be strong enough to endure until then.