Chapter One

It had been two weeks since the jail break out. Lin had every single metalbending officer in the entire bureau interrogated and nothing stuck out as being suspicious from the results. She had even visited all the retired officers and previous patrons of the Beifong Metal Bending academy but none of them presented with any discrepancies or red flags for her either. She knew that not all of her officers carried the amount of honesty that she would like them to, but this was starting to steer towards it being an outside job. Much of downtown Republic City hadn't woken up yet at the time the break out occurred, so there were very few witnesses and many of them didn't hold very much information that was helpful. She would have to dig deeper into the more sparse and unusual case reports for rare benders the force has had to deal with over the last several decades.

Lin got up from her desk in her office after double checking the roster that she and Mako had compiled. The metalbender unlocked the drawer for her filing cabinet and pulled it open with a flick of her hand. She pulled out an older folder that had been sitting in the drawer since even before she started working in the bureau. The last time she looked at it was to add new reports to the Red Lotus members they had faced nearly a year ago. She placed it on her desk and looked at the clock hanging between the rafters on the wall above her office double doors. It was getting late. For a moment Lin considered giving Mako the case load to examine to give him more practice looking at the more obscure files, but she shook the thought out of her head. This was feeling too personal for her to give the whole case away to someone else. She began flipping through the reports and forms from the file she pulled out of her cabinet and she began to lose track of time. She didn't realize how late it got until her phone rang on her desk. She picked up.

"Chief Beifong," She answered flatly.

"Hey, honey, I was checking to make sure you were ok. It's almost two in the morning." Kya's voice gently travelled to her from the phone earpiece.

"I'll be on my way out. I just lost track time with a case." Lin said, shuffling all the reports back into the folder.

"Glad to hear it. See you in a bit."

"See you in a bit." Lin replied before hanging up the phone. She could work on the case at home tomorrow morning. The metalbender pulled on her coat and placed the files she needed in a briefcase and locked her office for the night.

When Lin entered the apartment, only the bedroom light was on, a soft glow that she could see from the hallway. She placed her brief case on her desk in the living room after hanging up her coat and she made her way to the bedroom. Kya had been reading a book, but it was now sitting open on her lap, the waterbender had dozed off while she waited for her to commute back home. Lin took off her uniform as quietly as she could and changed into a fresh tank top and some sweat pants before she turned off the light and set the book aside. She slipped into bed next to her lover and wrapped her arms around her. Kya hummed and took a deep breath.

"I was starting to worry that you would be sleeping in your office, again." She teased, placing her arms over Lin's as she pressed against the waterbender's back. "You know at this age it's really bad for your neck and shoulders."

Lin sighed and Kya could guess that the metalbender was rolling her eyes.

"I'm just wrapped up in a case. You know how my work goes sometimes." Lin murmured against her neck before kissing the skin there.

"Mmm, well I'm just glad you came home." Kya said softly before dozing off again. Lin held her closer and soon followed, her face buried in Kya's silver waves as she fell asleep.

Lin was standing on the shore along Ember Island's dark and crystalline waters. She could see Kya standing in the shallower areas as the water reflected the stars in the night sky, the reflections mirrored so brightly it looked like the stars themselves were in the ocean. She gazed happily as Kya practiced her waterbending in smooth motions. The wind changed, causing ripples to slip across the surface. Something dark began to creep in, something was poisoning the water. Lin tried to move but her feet were sinking down in the white sand, her feet were too heavy. Her chi wouldn't reach into the earth at her command to stop it. She tried to cry out as a figure in the water became darker and more defined, but it was caught in her throat. Lin sunk deeper and deeper and she could hear her lover scream just as her head was about to go under. She heard another voice slither out amongst the screaming. This one she recognized.

'Your fear tastes delicious,'

Lin jumped awake but luckily it was subtle enough that she didn't wake up Kya. She took a few deep breaths and glanced at her alarm clock. She still had a few hours until her alarm clock would go off. She knew she wasn't going to fall back asleep so she laid with Kya for a few moments. The waterbender's back faced her and she gently leaned over to give the side of her forehead a kiss before she carefully climbed out of bed. She walked to her home office in her living room and turned on her desk lamp to continue looking at her files from her briefcase.

The sun had slowly risen over Republic City's horizon and Kya groaned as Lin's alarm clock went off. She reached over and fiddled with the lever on the top until it silenced. Kya rolled over looking at Lin's side of the bed only to see that the sheets were empty already and the bed was cold. Kya frowned and slowly got out of bed, pulling one of Lin's robes around herself. She made her way to the kitchen and made some tea, spotting Lin at her desk looking over some paperwork. She brought a hot mug over to the desk.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked, sipping on her own tea.

"Just an hour or two, I woke up a little early but I need to finish off my train of thought from last night before I lose it." Lin murmured. "Thanks for the tea." The metalbender didn't even look up from her work. Kya bit her lip in worry.

"Are we still on to go to some house showings tomorrow?" She asked before sipping on her tea. Lin didn't respond for a moment as she finished reading something but then spoke up.

"Yes, I should be off work in time for that, as long as the city doesn't blow up." She mused to herself, jotting down a note.

"I'll be sleeping at the island tonight," Kya continued. "I need to catch up with the family and catch up on some sleep." She watched as Lin continued to read something. "Lin? Can you look at me for a sec?" Kya's brow furrowed slightly. The metalbender did as she asked and looked up at the healer.

"Yeah?"

"You doing ok?" Kya asked, leaning down to touch Lin's forehead.

"Yes, I'm sorry I'm just… On a possible lead on something…" She replied awkwardly. "You said you're staying at the island tonight, was there a particular spot you wanted meet up at to view after work?" Lin asked.

"How about the property north from the station along the bay?" Kya suggested. Lin nodded.

"Sure."

"Alright. Now drink up your tea Chief."