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 cross, the resulting collision not only changes their lives and themselves, but the fate of the entire world as well. [Korrasami AU]
Author's Notes:
Okay, first off, Happy New Year. Which, if you are Chinese is a week and a couple of days away...so, in a way, this is an advance greeting? If you are not Chinese, then belated Happy New Year. I hope 2019 have been treating you guys well so far...and if, by any chance, you are a federal/government worker in the US, I feel your pain.
Secondly, I was going back and forth on posting this chapter so "early". This is an un-beta'd chapter, hence there might be a few mistakes sprinkled here and there. But, the thing is, with my beta currently vacationing with his family, it will take much, muchlonger until I can post this chapter if I wait for him. So, I decided...because I have been delayed in updating enough, that I will just post this chapter as it is and update it with the beta'd version when my beta finally comes back from his trip.
So, yeah...further notes in the end of this chapter (I know how you guys are itching to read it).
Happy reading! :)
Legend of Korra
The Schism
Chapter 70: A Race Against Death
Korra's mind raced. She could not, for the life of her, figure out what was going on; what it was that she had seen; the meaning of it all. Try as she might to put the pieces together, her brain could not quite grasp nor accept it.
Kuvira, a human woman whom she had—in the short amount of time Mnemosyne let them witness the events of the past—grown to respect and even admire, was consumed by darkness wholly and, from the looks of it, completely. And even though she had witnessed it happen before her eyes (and through the eyes of Mnemosyne), the Avatar could not fathom the reason behind it.
Why did Kuvira get taken over by the darkness? Korra wondered as the Spirit of Memory whisked them back to the present. She desired nothing more than the strength to overcome her foes, did she not? She did it all for the sake of those she wanted to protect...I do not understand…Is that not a noble goal to strive for?
But above all, the deity-turned-human was focused on what that darkness was. For even though she had witnessed it so many times since leaving the Hollowmount and Nia Bayou, the identity and nature of the root of all darkness still eluded her. It irked at her greatly.
The more I desire for answers, the more mystery comes my way, Korra thought bitterly.
He didn't know how long he had been standing in-front of that door. Several times, he had attempted to knock, but just as many flaked out.
Bolin would like to believe himself to be quite versatile. He was a Mover Star, it was something that he needed to be if he wanted to keep the momentum of his success (which he did) rolling full steam ahead. The young man was certain, up until that point, that no matter what the world throws at him, he would be able to adapt flawlessly and quickly.
And yet, here he was so full of uncertainty even when he was confident of what his endgame was to be.
For the umpteenth time that night, he pivoted on his heel and began worrying the rug as he moved back and forth, muttering to himself the words he had rehearsed to say, before second-guessing them and scratching his head with both his hands with such fervor it stood up in odd ends and angles.
"No, no, no..." he muttered, biting his thumbnail, stopping momentarily by the large windows that decorated the hallway. "That sounds weird...and creepy. I don't want to come out as weird and creepy. I want dashing and charming."
He cleared his throat again and tried a different line, rehearsing it in a low voice but remaining as animated as he usually was with his delivery. But again, Bolin groaned in frustration. The words didn't sound right either. Looking further down the hallway, he sighed feeling deflated, "I wish Asami was here, she'd be able to help me."
But Asami wasn't there. At least, that's what Duo Xing had told him. That his childhood friend (and person who could potentially keep him from making an absolute fool of himself on a very important thing that needed doing) and Korra were taking time for themselves in what his Secretary had explained in a very vague manner but he could only assume was a date.
A date. Asami and Korra are out on a date.
Bolin wondered how hard it was to just say that and why Duo Xing had to speak in such a roundabout way about it. Did Asami ask her to do that? There was no need for that. It wasn't as though nobody could see the connection the two had, or how each of them gravitated to the other, or how it was a long time coming. There was no need for secrecy over something so obvious. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the thought that Asami would think them oblivious of what was budding—or had developed—between the two.
Then again, Bolin allowed himself to think of anything else than what he had planned to talk about with Opal. Maybe it's not us they're trying to fool but the people here in Zaofu?
It was a plausible explanation. After all, he couldn't quite get past the feeling of constantly being watched and how everyone he had met thus far, though hospitable and welcoming to some extent, viewed them with something akin to suspicion; like they didn't fully trust their group. Which was weird, because (as far as he was concerned) they were the most trustworthy people around!
Once again, Bolin shook his head. He was distracting himself, and he knew it. It was time to man up and just knock on Opal's door and hope for the best.
He was about to do that when, someone suddenly spoke behind him asking, "What are you doing here?"
It spooked Bolin so much that all he could do in reply was to whirl around and let out an undignified and un-manly "Eeep!" that he was certain the entire mansion heard.
Iroh, the cause of his surprise, raised an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms—something that strongly reminded the young Mover Star of the Prince's mother. "Well?"
Bolin cleared his throat and straightened himself out. "I was, uh, just about to go and talk to Opal."
"Right," the elongated way that Iroh said that word, dragging it out more than was necessary, told Bolin he didn't believe him. "And that was the reason why you have been standing there and muttering to yourself for more than half an hour."
"W-What? No, I—That's not—I don't—" the Mover Star sputtered, wide-eyed like a deer caught in the headlights of an automobile. But then he paused, his brain finally nudging him to a fact the Prince had unwittingly shared. "Wait, how did you know I've been standing here for that long? Were you watching me?"
"Don't kid yourself," Prince Iroh huffed. "I have more important matters to attend to than boring myself with whatever strange thing you are up to. I merely saw you here earlier when I was making my way out of my room and then now, as I am returning."
"There's nothing strange about what I'm doing!" Bolin argued, mimicking the stance the other young man had.
"Sure, whatever you say." The Prince snorted in response. And, having grown tired of the Mover Star's antics, shook his head and began to walk away. "Just make sure you don't act too suspiciously to get us all into trouble. The gods know, with how our luck usually is, we don't need your help to end up getting into trouble regardless."
As Iroh began to leave him back to his lonesome, an idea popped in his head. He had to smack his forehead at not having thought of it sooner.
"Hey, Iroh! Wait up!" Bolin called out, completely disregarding the etiquette Duo Xing drilled in him with regards to addressing royalty. He reasoned to himself that Iroh wouldn't mind the lack of formalities, after all, they were Travel Buddies now, practically friends.
Despite having heard him being called after, Iroh decided to ignore Bolin and continued walking briskly, hoping the Mover Star would take the hint and leave him be. Alas, that was not meant to be as Bolin remained undeterred. Even the glare he shot his way lost its meaning and intensity and was returned with a wide grin that immediately, Iroh knew, spelled trouble for him.
Not for the first time, the heir to the Fire Nation throne couldn't help but curse his luck for being dragged into this whole "adventure" (his mother's and grandfather's words, not his. He had something else in mind to call it) and for opening his mouth to make fun of the commoner.
Sighing in resignation, but keeping what he believed was a death glare capable of freezing the entire region trained on the annoyance before him, Iroh growled, "What?"
Bolin took a great, big gulp of air, bowed his head and in one exhalation blurted out in a higher pitched voice than the one he commonly used, "Oh, Great Prince, Iroh! I need your help!"
The outburst caused Iroh to take a step back, literally being taken aback by the request and the way it was spoken. The sugary way Bolin had made use of his title and stature as royalty only intensified the warning bells that resounded inside Iroh's head at whatever this request for help was and whatever it would encompass.
When Iroh said nothing and merely stared at him, Bolin decided to bring out "the big guns", putting into practice his big, sad, puppy dog eyes that usually got him what he wanted whenever he made use of it, pouting and taking hold of the Prince's sleeves like a little kid wanting to get attention and begging for something the adults would rather not give him.
Iroh would have been amused to witness such a thing had he not been at the receiving end of it. What Bolin was doing simply irked the young prince and it took all that he had not to take any drastic measures that would have certainly ended with the Mover Star getting hurt and him being sued for ruining his face.
"Will you quit that!" The Prince tried to shake the hold on him off. He managed for a few seconds before Bolin latched onto him once more. "Stop it!"
"I will if you help me!"
"I could have you beheaded for this!" Really, Iroh was getting fed up with the idiot clinging to him. "Get off me!"
"I don't care, just help me!" Bolin's voice rose, much to Iroh's horror.
The Prince looked around, wondering if anyone would be rushing towards them to keep them from loitering about. It would have been problematic if that was the case. He didn't want to be seen, after all, fearing that they would immediately know he was snooping around.
It was his desire to keep the manic Mover Star from making any more noises that got him to agree, with an aggravated huff as he yanked his arm back, to assist Bolin in whatever it was he needed help with.
"Fine!" He had said with a glare, "What do you want?"
"Awesome!" Bolin pumped his fist in the air in victory, grinning wildly, and then doing a quick victory dance for good measure that had Iroh groaning and fervently wishing that he was anywhere but there at that moment. Turning his attention completely on Iroh once more, he asked, "You're a prince, right?"
And, truly, it took every ounce of his patience and every bit of calmness he could muster in his body to keep him from blowing up on Bolin. With gritted teeth, the Prince could only muster one response, "That is the most asinine—"
But Bolin disregarded the fact that he was still speaking and cut him off, continuing with, "Then you must be popular with the ladies!"
And that effectively shut the young heir to the Fire Nation throne. He blinked, not entirely sure what he had heard was truly what had been said. For the second time that night, all he could ask was: "What?"
"Wait, no. Obviously, you are. What I mean to say is that you know your way around them," Bolin corrected himself. "You can probably get any girl you want and they would have to be crazy not to reciprocate your feelings. I mean, you are the prince and heir to the throne. You've got the looks and everything."
Bolin's view of him and what he thinks were included as perks to his stature, made Iroh cross his arms once again and for irritation to resurface much too strongly.
You're wrong, Iroh wanted to say, as an image of Asami flashed in his mind. He wasn't dense enough not to realize that the beautiful, young woman wasn't interested in him the way he was in her. But that wasn't enough to dissuade him from trying to pursue her. We just started off on the wrong foot, that's all.
He shook his head. It wasn't the time to dwell on that. He wasn't about to show that having someone like Korra being preferred over him had affected him so and wounded his pride.
"What are you getting at, Bolin?" He asked, cutting off whatever else the Mover Star was saying (which he had drowned out in favor of his own musings).
"Well…" Bolin hesitated for a beat and looked away. He psyched himself up before returning his gaze on Iroh and saying, "It's Opal. I'm interested in her." He shook his head. "No, that's not it. I'm in love with her."
"Right," Iroh rolled his eyes. He couldn't imagine how that was possible. How anyone could possibly fall for such a difficult person. But that was beside the point (and he chided himself for thinking that of Opal, especially when he had promised to do better when it came to Asami's friends just to prove to her that he was well-meaning and a better option than Korra), "And I should help you with this, why? Because, I remember you bragging to me, my mother, my grandfather, and anyone who was willing to listen, that you are in a relationship with—what was her name?—Ginger? That other Mover Star you always get paired up with?"
The Mover Star gasped, melodramatically. "I'll have you know I haven't spoken to Ginger in quite a while now. Ever since I got roped into this adventure with Korra."
"So, a month?" The Prince raised an eyebrow. "Just because you haven't talked with her in that span of time doesn't mean your relationship with her is already forfeit. Unless you have both talked things through and came to an agreement on where your relationship stands, then you and Ginger are still a couple. Heck, you didn't even deny that you two are still together!"
"Yeah, but—!"
"No." Iroh stood his ground. He wasn't going to help Bolin with Opal, not when he still had commitments. Much as he didn't like the girl, he didn't want her to be caught up in whatever drama he was certain was going to come out of being caught in the middle of two, famous stars' relationship. He had an idea of how that was going to go down. He had lived through something similar, after all.
"But, Iroh, can't you see? I'm now a fool in-love! I'm an anguished soul yearning for that powerful union stronger than any cosmic force: my soulmate!" Bolin delivered the words theatrically, as though it was a line from some mover he was filming—and Iroh wouldn't be surprised if it had been a line in one.
He had hoped that it would sway the Prince and get him to change his mind. Alas, it only made the Prince adamant, crushing Bolin's dreams (and his heart) into tiny, little, fragmented pieces.
Kai was baffled.
He had wanted to check in on Naga, fearing that the Polar Bear Dog might be feeling lonely and that the Avatar would be displeased with him failing to take good care of her. But when he got into the pen where Opal's brothers had asked them to keep her in, the Avatar's Steward found it open, her saddle not where he had remembered hooking it, and the Polar Bear Dog herself have disappeared.
He chewed on his lower lip, wondering who had taken Naga. He began ticking everyone off, believing none of them—not even Korra—would attempt to leave the premises at such a time, not when everyone seemed to be on high alert and when any—and every—action from them could be scrutinized from the most minuscule of details.
Add that to the fact that Asami would certainly reign in whatever impulsiveness Korra had while they were in Zaofu and he was certain Naga should have been in her pen. Looking around, the young steward began to regard everyone in the vicinity with a suspicious eye.
As he was keenly observing his surroundings, his eyes landed on the windows on the upper floors he knew was where there rooms were located. The light from the hallways gave him a clear view. His eyebrows shot up when he saw two of the most unlikeliest of duos talking on one end of the hallway: Prince Iroh and Bolin, the latter seemed to be talking animatedly.
Curiosity made him wonder what those two could possibly be talking about outside of their own room.
"How careless of them," he muttered to himself, especially when he remembered Iroh pulling him aside and telling him gruffly not to do anything that may cause distrust to bloom in the hearts of those who had welcomed them.
Taking his eyes off the two, his green orbs continued to travel around hoping to find some sort of clue as to Naga's whereabouts. It took him a couple of minutes after that to notice Opal exiting the mansion. Frowning and wondering what she was doing outside, Kai decided to join her, jogging towards her direction.
He waved and called out to her, causing several heads to swivel to their direction. Opal waved back and didn't seem to mind the attention they were garnering from the guards posted around and the servant milling about.
"I didn't think you'd still be up," Opal smiled at him. It wasn't the usual smile she gave, though. It didn't quite reach the Historian's eyes, which was the first hint Kai had that something was bothering her. "I figured with how long our day has been you would have hit the sack by now."
"I couldn't sleep. Besides, I don't think I will be sleeping tonight." Kai shrugged.
That got Opal's attention, her head whipping to look at him with a worried expression on her face, like she knew something bad had happened. Which was strange. "Why? Is everything alright?"
Not wanting to worry her, Kai shrugged and tried to downplay his own concerns as though the Avatar's Polar Bear Dog was not missing. "Ah, well, it's just Naga seemed to have taken a walk on her own. So, I'd need to go and find her before Korra finds out and chews my head off." He laughed awkwardly at that.
"Naga?" Opal tipped her head to the side in thought, "Wouldn't she be with Korra and Asami?"
"Why would Naga be with them? I thought your brothers didn't want Naga to dirty the guest rooms, or something?" It was Kai's turn to look confused.
"Because they are taking a walk somewhere? I'd assume if Naga is missing, Korra might have taken her for a walk with them."
"A...walk?" For the second time that night, Kai was surprised. Not with Korra taking Naga for a walk and thereby making his earlier assertion wrong, but the fact that Asami would go with Korra on this walk at such a time when dawn was not that far away. "Why would they...?"
Opal rolled her eyes at the question. "Are you seriously asking that. I didn't figure you out for being slow on the uptake, Kai. Especially not with this."
It took a couple of heartbeats—and a flew seconds of Kai blinking dumbly at her—before it dawned on the young man what the aspiring, young Historian was saying and he couldn't help the grin that stretched across his face and the "Oh" that escape his lips.
"Well, I'm glad I now know where Naga went and am safe from the wrath of the Avatar." he laughed then. "You have no idea how scary Korra can be when it comes to Naga and her well-being."
"Oh, I have no problems imagining such a scenario." the young Bei-Fong shook her head. "So, I guess that's one mystery solved for the night."
"And yet one more remains," the grin never left Kai's face.
"Make that two," Opal blew a raspberry and the frustration and worry that Kai had noticed when he first saw her that night—an expression he couldn't help but think his friend had been trying hard to hide—returned. It was curious.
"Two? What other mystery is there apart from what those two are doing?"
At first, Opal thought Kai was talking about Korra and Asami again, but Kai was pointing with subtlety at the upper floor hallway with an amused look on his face.
Opal followed the direction Kai was pointing to.
"So, you're finally back. How was it?" The smiling face of the old woman, Toph, greeted her as she blinked away the remnants of their journey through Mnemosyne's eyes and to the In-Between.
Korra groaned. Her muscles felt stiff, her body heavy. But the question did not matter much to her, not at that moment. Her eyes quickly moved to where Asami was stirring awake as well. A look of relief passed on her face, even growing when Toph told her that she had already checked on the other young woman and that she was going to be okay.
"No lasting negative effects and all that," Toph had waved her hand, dismissing whatever worries might be gnawing in the Avatar's mind on Asami's impromptu trip to the In-Between and her journey to the past with her. "She might just be feeling a bit groggy for a while."
"That...That is good to hear." The Avatar stretched her neck, rotating it and tilting her head to one side then the other, before she stood up, ready to make her way to Asami's side. "I suspect you already know what it was that we discovered, judging by your earlier query."
At the same time, Toph had begun to make her journey back to the large rock she had sat and waited in prior to the two, young women waking.
"I did." She answered.
"Then why the need for us to traverse here, endangering both of our lives, just to learn what you could have easily just told us yourself?" Korra tried to reign in the anger that bubbled to the surface at the reminder of the events that had transpired, but it was hard knowing that Asami had placed herself at risk climbing down the steep cliff to get to her aide; knowing that the other girl could have gotten hurt in the process.
"Because, some things are hard to talk about and easier to be believed with one's own eyes," the old woman answered calmly as she sat atop the giant boulder. "Besides, is it not the job of the Avatar to investigate and find her own conclusion about things that have to do with the Mortal and Spirit Realms? If I fed you the information as you would have liked, would you have learned any of the things you now have for yourself? And I don't just mean about what Mnemosyne showed you."
The way Toph looked at her made it seem that the old woman knew more than she was letting on; that she could see things clearly despite her disability—even the things Korra didn't want to have to deal with at the moment, things she pushed to the very back of her mind.
The deity-turned-human did not bother to respond, however, as Asami finally opened her eyes and slowly—with the aid of the shorter girl—pushed herself upright.
"Ugh, that is one ride I'm not sure I would want to try again." the Prodigy groaned, cradling her head. "I feel nauseous."
"It'll pass, dear." Toph assured her, which surprised Asami who did not notice the presence of the older woman until she spoke. Toph waved her hand again, this time at the way she had startled the porcelain-skinned heiress. "I was told you two were in trouble, so I came and rushed over here only to find that you were both perfectly fine." She replied to Asami's unasked question. "Damn Amka and their inability to be precise in what they want to say," the old woman added under her breath.
"The Amka?" Korra managed to grab hold of her mutterings, much to the Guardian of the Elemental Core of the Earth's chagrin. "They sent for you?"
"Yes, as well as an old friend—" and in a much louder voice, looking up above the fog-covered sky as if she wanted whomever that old friend was to hear what she was about to say next, said, "—who actually thought I would stupid enough to send both of you someplace that was actually dangerous and had the need to gloat over my lack of foresight!—which," she turned back to them and spoke in her normal tone, "was not the case, I tell you. I knew you both had things under control."
"Korra almost died!" Asami blurted out in exasperation, gesturing to the dark-skinned girl.
Toph raised an eyebrow at Asami even before Korra turned her head towards her Chosen at the sudden outburst and rolling her eyes, "I did not 'almost die'. That is a gross exaggeration of what happened."
Asami glared at her then, as though she had said something she should not have—which, whatever it was, was lost on the young Avatar. "You fell off a cliff."
"I think it hardly falls on me if Korra is a clumsy oaf." Toph threw in. Korra had an inkling that the old woman knew what she was getting into for insulting her, which was why it didn't surprise her when her own outburst left Toph unfazed as well. "Anyway," the old woman raised her voice to be heard amid Korra's tantrum. She turned to Asami and smiled at her, "It was quick thinking on your part to ask the Amka for help, Asami. They were moved to action by your pleas, it's quite surprising actually, despite Korra having ordered them to keep to simply keep you company and keep an eye on you."
"I—" Asami was at a lost. She had thought the Amka had disappeared when she asked them for their help and had left her to her own devices. "I was just worried about Korra. I didn't actually think they would listen and do something."
"Ah, but you are the Avatar's Chosen. By all accounts, you have as much dominion as the Avatar does in the Spirit Realm. You are, in a way, an equal to the Avatar. You can think of yourself as the emissary of the Mortal Realm whereas the Avatar is that of the Spirit Realm's." Toph explained as though talking about the weather or the food; as though what she was saying was something not at all surprising to both Korra and Asami and was something they should have known about.
"That's not something Lord Zuko told us anything about," Korra pointed out, crossing her arms in the process.
Toph snorted. "I doubt Zuko told you anything useful. That senile, old, fool would like to think himself ahead of the pack, but I assure you, Zuko knows squat...and if—and that's a big if- he does know something, he would have explained it in a convoluted way that would have left more things to ponder about and, maybe, give one of you cause to worry for good measure."
"That's kind of a harsh thing to say about one of the people who helped Avatar Aang," Asami remembered how Lord Zuko had introduced himself to them, and how adamantly he had tried to change Korra's view on her predecessor.
Silently, though, Korra hoped Toph might have something useful to say—something more hopeful to say—about the predicament she was hiding from everyone.
"I'd like to think I have the right to say such a things, considering I was there with them as well." Toph huffed. "How'd you think I ended up with this here responsibility? It wasn't out of fun, let me tell ya."
"You were?" Korra once again proved how little she knew about history—true or not. Not that Asami could boast about having come to that realization before Toph admitted it herself. The Avatar looked at Asami and, as though nothing of importance was at hand, commented, "What are you willing to bet that Opal would not be pleased that we get to meet another one of 'the Heroes' without her?"
There was no way to state how stupid the whole thing was. One moment, Bolin was bemoaning the fact that he was not going to help him cheat on Ginger with Opal, the next, the Mover Star was squishing his face on the window with a sharp intake of breath that it could have been a squeal of shock for all Iroh could care.
And, quite honestly, he didn't. But it was too stupid that he couldn't avert his eyes.
So, there was Bolin, forcing his face through the glass pane of the window, looking down at whatever it was that had caught his interest. After a while of him just pressing his face there, the Mover Star began to blubber about something Iroh couldn't understand, what with his face smooshed on the window and whatever he was saying coming out as random noises that could not possibly count as actual words.
The Prince sighed, rolled his eyes and wondered why he was about to subject himself to whatever was to happen next due to the question he was set to ask, "What are you saying? I can't understand you."
"Opal," Bolin wailed so loudly that Iroh immediately clamped his mouth shut, placing a hand—much to the Prince's disgust—over his companion.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to make too much noise!" the Heir to the Fire Nation Throne hissed, glaring daggers at the Mover Star.
"B-But, Opal..." Bolin proceeded to point to where, as Iroh moved close to the window, he saw the young Bei-Fong was with the brat.
"Yes, Opal. Now you've found her, congratulations." Iroh rolled his eyes. "Can we now go to sleep? Or, would you at least let me go to sleep?"
"But she's with Kai!"
"I can see that." Again, the Fire Nation Prince rolled his eyes. "It's not the first time those two hung out together. They've been traveling together with Asami and Korra, after all. I don't see what the big deal is."
"Are you telling me Kai has already had me beat?" Bolin all but shrieked at him as he grabbed hold of the Prince's collar and shook him. A few seconds later, the Mover Star released his hold on Iroh without prompting and threw his hands up before grabbing fistfuls of his hair and saying, "That...That can't be!"
Oh, Great Ancestors, help me or I might just forego mother's warnings and just murder this insipid halfwit! Iroh was running out of patience even faster than he had the first time around. It was no longer amusing. It was downright maddening.
Bolin quickly plastered himself to the window once more, looking down at whatever it was Opal and Kai were up to. It wasn't that much later when he pushed himself away as though he was burned by the glass, a panic-stricken look on his face.
He looked at Iroh and stage-whispered, "They saw me," as though talking at a normal volume would allow those two outside to hear what he was saying.
"This is really stupid. I'm out," Iroh finally dismissed whatever crazy Bolin had going for him this time and began to hurriedly leave the Mover Star's side, thankful that the door to his room was a lot closer now than it had been before.
He quickly opened the door and, just as quickly, shut it, momentarily forgetting that Bolin was one of his roommates until the aforementioned young man came barreling in the same room and whining about being left behind.
All Iroh could do at that point was bury his head underneath the pillows and silently wish they would just suffocate him and save him from the headache Bolin was giving him.
"So, what now?" Asami asked, once Toph had given them ample explanation (or, Korra would like to think, excuses) as for having them traverse the expanse of the swamp and not just flat-out tell them about the large rift that was causing all of the anomalies in the swamp and about the woman who seemed to be behind it. "We've found what it is you have asked of us and we've also learned about Kuvira."
"Now, we try to fix one of the problems plaguing the Earth Kingdom," Toph replied, pushing herself off of the boulder that had acted as her throne for the duration of their discussions.
The Guardian of the Elemental Core of the Earth began to move towards the edge of the cliff, she stopped when she noticed neither Korra nor Asami was following her. "Well, what's the hold up? Time may be a crawl here, but there is much for us to do and I'd really like to go back to my tea soon."
"Where are we going?" Korra asked, though she already had a guess as to where.
"To the Rift, of course." the old woman responded as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Didn't you say it's your responsibility to close it, hmm?"
Raava's human incarnation gritted her teeth at the reminder of what she had to do and of her inability to do it. "It's no use," she admitted, though she would rather not. "Even with Asami's help, I doubt I would be able to close that rift with how I am now."
"Bah! Nonsense!" Toph once again waved her hand. "You just think you can't."
"I am pretty much certain this is not a question of mind over matter, old lady." Glared the Avatar. "I tried. Nothing happened. End of story."
In a movement so swift neither Korra nor Asami saw, Toph had traversed back to where Korra had remained rooted on the spot and had hit her, on the back of her head, with an oaken cane neither the Avatar nor her Chosen had notice she had on her person. "I will not have you speaking such nonsense." There was a note of annoyance in the way the old woman spoke, as though what Korra had said greatly insulted her.
"What was that for?" the Avatar glowered as she rubbed the sore spot on her head.
"For not listening to your elders," is what Toph merely stated before she turned around and once again made her way to the edge of the cliff. "Now, come. Enough excuses, Avatar Korra. We'll see what you can and cannot do."
"Ah, wait a minute, Lady Toph," Asami called out upon realizing that the old woman had not slowed her pace and was nearing the edge of the cliff. "There's a cliff over there you might—"
Whatever Asami was to say next died in her throat. It was at that precise moment when the Lady of the Swamp had taken one step too many and suddenly disappeared from view—much like how Korra did. Quickly, the two, young women rushed to the edge of the cliff, the Prodigy calling out the old woman's name as they peered down, their hearts thumping heavily and quickly in their chest at the thought of what might have happened to her.
What they saw, however, as looked over the threshold was a stairway made of earth sticking on the side of the cliff—a staircase that was not there before. And a little further down was the old woman, walking down the stairs as though there was nothing out of the ordinary about it.
"Don't keep me waiting, Korra," Toph called without looking up at them, waving the cane she still hand in her hands like a baton. "There is much that needs doing and there is no time like the present."
Korra and Asami both exchanged looks. And though the Avatar would rather not return to that place down below, she now did not have a say on the matter.
With a sigh, she stood up and offered a hand to Asami, saying, "Well, I suppose it is best to get this over and done with, though I hope that old woman is ready for a disappointment if she thinks I will be able to close that Rift."
It was a boring night, just like every other nights before them. After Lady Opal's sudden arrival and her homecoming—and the night before, when Lady Lin was brought back to the kingdom in the dead of the night—the lack of any new happenings in their vicinity was enough to make them lax.
Even with the directive to keep an eye on Lady Opal's friends, there was nothing to do. They were so far away from the mansion, and even the heart of the city, that it was unthinkable for any of their visitors to come trudging in to that part of Zaofu.
The guard yawned, eyes misty from keeping himself awake. He stared blankly at the vast expanse of the Jianyin Desert before him to the stretch of the Maru Mountain range. It was the area he and his partner were designated to keep vigil of, just in case Ba Sing Se decided to attack.
"Stay alert!" his commander yelled at him. She was, perhaps, the only one of them who was still vigilant and taking the job seriously. Friction or no, everything seemed to be at peace. Ba Sing Se had yet to actually attack them. They hadn't dared. All the skirmishes that had happened between their Clan and that of the viper, Hou-Ting, had never reached the walls of either Zaofu or Ba Sing Se. He couldn't fathom why they still bother to keep their defenses up. He wanted to say that much to his commanding officer, but he didn't want to get into trouble. "I won't have any of you falling asleep on the job."
"Yes, ma'am!" he saluted. In his periphery, he saw another guard try to stifle a yawn and prayed that he wouldn't end up yawning again because of him.
As he turned his head back to the direction he was responsible keeping watch on, he heard something: a mechanical whirring, a sputtering and hissing of sorts. He searched around, wondering where it was coming from. Judging from how the other guards that were on duty with him—as well as their commanding officer—were also suddenly on alert, he knew he wasn't the only one hearing it; that he wasn't imagining things due to his fatigue.
His eyes gazed back into the desert, squinting into the darkness that descended when the clouds hid the moon from view.
"Whoever drove that sand cruiser should have it checked," his partner commented, shaking his head as a sand cruiser passed beneath them
But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He suddenly felt a chill, making him shudder. His Pa always did tell him he had a knack for sensing these things, though it was not a gift he would like. After all, it always did nothing but bring him misfortune.
He prayed that tonight that wouldn't be the case.
The vehicle cruised slowly to a stop not far from the arch where their watchtowers were attached. The person driving it slumping forward, draping herself on the steering wheel as though the journey had tire her out. It was not at all an uncommon occurrence. Zaofu wasn't an easily accessible place, after all. What wasn't at all commonplace was how the female driver didn't move even after several minutes had passed.
Worried that she might have fallen asleep—worst still if she was driving the sand cruiser while sleeping—their commander motioned for him to go check the operator's well-being.
He wanted to grumble. He was tired and sleepy and he would rather just stay up there in the watchtower than climb down the ladder to the woman and her sand cruiser. He was also a bit spooked, but he wasn't going to admit that. He didn't want to be made fun of.
You're a member of the Metal Clan, he told himself as he descended, one rung down after the other. You are just going to go check on that lady. Nothing bad's gonna happen. Everything is alright.
Still, he moved cautiously, which earned him a roll of their eyes from his commanding officer and his partner. When he got to the driver's side of the sand cruiser, he rapped on the window, hoping that would wake the lady up.
She didn't stir, and so he tried again.
On the third attempt, which still yielded no results, his heart began hammering even quicker as his brain kept overriding his thoughts with whispers of something being wrong.
"What are you waiting for?" his commanding officer yelled at him. "Perhaps she's drunk, get her and the sand cruiser out of there before she causes any problems!"
He nodded. With trembling hands he took hold of the sand cruiser's door handle.
Just open it like pulling a band-aid, he told himself to do. Which is what he did just to be able to get it over with and be able to return to his post.
He wasn't prepared for what he saw, though. And neither did he had time to report it to his commanding and superior officers, not even to his partner. No sooner had he seen that the female driver was not drunk nor asleep (or both), did a blood curling scream emanate from the watchtower he had vacated.
He paled even more and quickly turned around. He was about to look up to where his partner and his commander was when something dropped onto the hood of the sand cruiser.
It was the severed torso of his partner.
His screams then mingled with those from the watchtower. He forced his feet to move, to run and warn everyone of whatever monstrous creature was attacking them. He stumbled and almost hit his head on the pavement in his haste, his arms and knees taking the brunt of the fall.
The guard hissed in pain, but shook it off. He didn't want to die. He also didn't want to see what demented creature would do something so ghastly.
Suffice to say, neither of his desires came to pass. Before he left to follow his ancestors to the place beyond, he saw the culprit behind the attack. Or culprits, rather.
They were strangely-dressed in fierce-looking armor with long claw-like weapons that seemed to be welded in their hands and a mask that made them look inhuman.
And there were a lot of them.
Post Chapter Notes:
So, there you guys have it.
I hope there weren't that many mistakes in this chapter. I feel kind of iffy posting it without a beta.
Anyways, the end of this chapter was something I didn't feel happy writing about. I feel bad for the fictional guards I threw into the fire. Also, just in case you guys may be wondering, I don't hate Bolin. Just know there is a reason for me portraying him as such in this story. Same goes for Iroh.
So, yeah...if you guys enjoy this chapter (and want to give support other than the usual kudos and comment/favorite), then maybe you guys can head over to my YouTube Channel and subscribe (youtube (d-o-t) com /user/xxxSakuraMartinezxxx)? Or, if you can, go buy me a cup of coffee (at Ko-fi (d-o-t) com/iamvianca)? Kind of trying to make ends meet at the moment, so any kind of support helps. I also have a P4treon page ( /IAmVianca) if you guys are into that.
(Because this site is stupid with links hence that weird paragraph above). Just PM me if you guys are interested in showing your support for my works.
Anyway, the next chapter, I will probably come at the same day as the beta'd version of this chapter does. Unless I grow impatient and just post it un-beta'd too. If you guys don't mind un-beta'd versions of my chapters coming first, then maybe we can work something out.
Until the next chapter!
Dream on; Fly on!