Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Korra or Avatar the Last Airbender. I only own my own characters and ideas
Book four Peace Chapter Four: Arrival of a Beifong
The next morning Jinora slid the healing room door to find it empty. She sighed, and walked to the spinning gates. She smiled as she thought about the first time Ren went through the gates. She got hit by the gates, and threw rocks everywhere until she finally learned how to get through the gates. Jinora pushed a blast of air through the gates, and she weaved through the gates. When she got out she found herself standing in front of Kai, Pema, and Tenzin. She walked away from them, because she didn't want to hear what they had to say. She looked at Republic City, and knew Ren could be anywhere. She prayed to the spirits Ren wasn't doing anything stupid.
Ren walked with Hope to their house in Republic City. Hope licked Ren's face, but Ren didn't smile like usual. Ren opened the door and Hope ran in. Hope knocked stuff over, and Ren signed. The two walked into the kitchen, and Ren gave Hope something to eat before she went into her room. She shut the door before she made an earth barrier. She slid against the wall, and started to cry. She looked at the barrier when she heard someone pounding on the bedroom door. Ren left the wall up and continued to cry. She heard the front door slam and then silence. She sat in the room only leaving when she had to go to the bathroom. She looked out the window, and saw it was starting to get dark. She knew Sky would be getting home soon. She grabbed a blanket, and opened the barrier to place the blanket on the floor. When Sky got home he saw the blankets on the floor, and the door still wouldn't budge. He sighed before he grabbed the blanket. He threw it on the couch before he opened the fridge. He grabbed the leftover rice and threw it on the table. He grabbed a glass and placed ice into it. He started to look for the sake. He found the sake and was about to pour it but threw the glass against the wall. He took the sake to the couch and started to drink out of the bottle. He laid down, continuing to drink from the bottle. He fell asleep hold the bottle, and half drunk. He woke up when someone was pounding on the front door. He placed his hand on his head. The person pounded on the door again. Sky started to get up to open the door when the person pounded again. He opened the door to find his mother in front of him.
"What the flameo are you doing Sky? You're hungover. You are suppose to be running the police force right now. Instead you're home, and hungover. You are going to have to work hard if you want to fill mine, and my mother's shoes. Sky you need to get your shit straight. I don't give a fuck if you are hung over or not. You have a duty to the people of Republic City, so go fulfill it," Lin said.
Lin grabbed Sky's armor, and pulled him out of the house. She shoved him as hard as he could. He tripped a bit, but continued to walk. Lin walked into the house, and up the stairs. She heard Ren crying and stopped. She turned around and walked away. Ren laid in bed until later in the afternoon. She looked at her closet and grabbed fresh clothes. She brought the barrier down and whistled for Hope as she walked out the door. Shee jumped on Hope's back, making the armadillo lion run. Ren made her run for a store near the Police headquarters. When they got to the store Ren jumped off of Hope's back and into the store. She grabbed two bottles of sake before making her way to the register. She slammed the money on the counter and walked out to Hope. She jumped onto the armadillo lion's back before she pulled it in the direction of the Police Headquarters. Ren used her metalbending to open the sake as quickly as she could. She drank the first bottle until, completely emptying it before they got to the Police Headquarters building. When they arrived Ren slid down, tripping over her own feet. She dropped the empty bottle as she walked into the building. She stumbled through the building trying not to hit anything. She ran into Mako's desk, him look up. Ren opened Sky's office door, and staggered in to his office. She dropped the bottle of sake and the glass shattered. Sky looked at Ren. He could see she was drunk. He looked at Ren's bloodshot eyes for a moment then he stood. He walked over to her and tried to grab her hand, but she pulled away. He placed his hand on her face, and she shut the door. Sky looked at her for a moment and he sat Ren down. He picked up the phone and looked at Ren.
"Hey can one of you do me a favor? Ren is in my office and she is really drunk. I need someone to take her and watch her until I am done here," Sky said. He paused for a moment as he waited for the response. "Okay thank you."
Sky placed the phone back on his desk before he pinched the bridge of his nose. He watched as Ren tried to stand up but fell to the ground. He walked over to her, trying to pick her up. She pulled him to the ground and laughed, but he didn't have time for games. She pushed him on his back and climbed on top of him. She started to kiss him and he kissed her back. The door opened and Lin walked in with Tenzin. Sky turned his head and tried to think of a way to explain. He felt Ren's lips on his neck. Lin crossed her arms as she looked down at Sky.
"I.. I can explain. It isn't what it looks like," Sky said.
"Then what is it Sky because I see no protest on your end," Lin said grabbing the two.
Lin pulled Ren with her as she shook her head at the two. Ren was running into thing as Lin pulled her out of the building. Ren put her hand over her eyes as Lin drug her to the air bison Tenzin had used to get them to the Police Headquarters. Lin tossed Ren in the saddle and listen to her groan. She rolled her eyes as they took off. By the time they reached the island REn had already fallen asleep. Lin started to pinch the bridge of her nose before she grabbed Ren. Lin could smell the alcohol on Ren. Everyone looked as Lin carried Ren up the stairs and through the courtyard. Lin took Ren to her room on the island and shut the door. She shook her head as she went to sit down.
The next morning Ren woke up to her head pounding. She slowly opened her eyes and saw she was on the island. She had no clue how she had gotten there, but she slowly moved out of bed. She slid the door open and made the way to the dining area with her hand on her head. She looked at everyone and didn't understand why any of them were acting so strangely. She sat down next to Lee and Sesi who got up as soon as she sat. She looked at everyone around the table, but no one looked at her. She pushed off the table and walked toward the dock. Jinora stood and watched her walk away. She was going to follow her, but Kai grabbed her arm. Ren looked back at the temple before she got on the ferry. She looked over Yue Bay and shook her head. She clearly wasn't wanted at the island so she was going to see Sky. She made her way toward Police Headquarters when she felt like someone was following her. She continued to walk, but she turned into an alley. She started to run toward the building hoping she had lost whoever was following her. She saw a piece of ice fly by her face. She turned around to see members of the traids following her. She continued to run for the Police Headquarters. She dodged a large boulder but it was getting harder to weave through people and avoid attacks. Ren turned around and sent an air blast before she kept running. When she made it to the building people started to scream as the traids continued to attack Ren.
Sky looked out his window when he heard people screaming. He saw that the traids were causing problems in front of the building. He opened his door and whistled for Mako. The two ran outside to see Ren trying to hold her own against the large group. Ren was standing in front of a member of the triads when she was knocked down by a flame. She looked up to see Aki running over to her. She groaned as she tried to get up. She was hit under the chin by water. She slammed the ground and everyone fell. Ren got up and started to run toward Aki. She stopped when Aki grabbed a woman who had a child. The woman screamed and started to cry as Aki pulled her closer to her. Ren stood there not knowing how to react. Aki made a blade out of fire. Ren didn't know how she was going to get the woman away from Aki without anyone getting hurt. The traids started to slowly surround Sky and Mako. Ren started to look around for an opening, but couldn't seem to find one. She looked down at her cables before she looked at the crying woman. Ren sent one cable at Aki and the other at the woman and boy. Before the cables reached anyone, Aki pulled the blade across the woman's throat. Ren's cables dropped to the ground aa she stared at Aki. Aki dropped the woman and took off. Ren stood there for a moment before she snapped back into reality. She looked at the small boy pushing on his mother's lifeless body telling her to get up. She walked over to him, picking him up. She started to take him into the building and she heard him cry. They got into Sky's office and waited for him to walk in. Once Sky final arrived she looked at the boy sitting next to her. She pulled Sky out of his office and closed the door, leaving it open enough that she could still see him.
"Sky what are we going to do with him? We don't know who he is. We don't know if he has family. Hello? Sky? What are we going to do?" Ren asked.
"Ren, I don't know. The best I can say for right now is take him back to the island. Who knows if Aki is going to come after him or not. If she does at least he will be safe. I will look into if he has family or not. If not, we go from there," Sky said looking through the small opening.
Ren gave a small smile before she looked through the opening. She smiled slightly at the boy before she opened the door. She walked over to him placing her hand on his back before she crouched down in front of him. She wiped the tears out of his eyes. She picked him up and made her way for the door before she stopped. She turned to him and waited for him to say something.
"Ummm... hey there little guy. What's your name and how old are you?" Sky asked.
"Hakoda. I'm this many," Hakoda said holding two fingers up.
Ren smiled at Sky before she walked out with the small boy. She walked out of the building still holding the small boy. She walked toward the ferry and started to think about what happened. This child was now motherless because of her. She looked down at him as they made their way for the docks. Once they were finally on the ferry she set him down and went to lean on the railing. She stared at her great Grandpa Aang's statue and sighed. She looked down at the water and thought about how she really messed up this time. When they finally arrived at the island Ren took Hakoda's hand and the two walked to the courtyard. Pema, Tenzin, Jinora, and Kai were sitting in the courtyard when the two finally got there. Hakoda moved closer to Ren, but she reassured him it was okay. He walked moved away from Ren to look at everyone. The group looked at Ren for a moment, but she didn't know how to respond. Pema extended her arm toward Hakoda for him to follow her. He looked up at her and she nodded at him. He slowly walked away from Ren and over to Pema. He looked back at Ren and she nodded at him. He grabbed Pema's hand and the two walked towards the kitchen. Ren tried to smile, but she couldn't bring herself to try and fake a smile anymore. She looked at them one more time before she tried to walk to her room on the island. She felt someone grab her and she turned around.
"Ren, what happened? Who is he? Why is he here?" Jinora asked.
Ren looked at her mother a moment before she answered. "His name is Hakoda. Aki killed his mother for Ravaa knows what reason. She just grabbed her and I didn't act fast enough. Sky is going to look to see if he has any family, but we don't know if he is in any danger. We thought it would be best if he was here. He would be safe safer here than anywhere else in Republic City. Aki teamed up with the traids. This is far worse than we ever could have predicted," Ren said.
The three looked at Ren for a moment before she made her way to the kitchen. She took Hakoda's hand and brought him into her room. She pulled him into her lap and started to rub his back. She smiled as he snuggled into her. She started to think back to what happen back at headquarters. She placed her chin on his head and thought about what she could have done differently. She stared blankly at the wall. She never heard the door open slightly. She only continued to hold Hakoda and stare at the wall. Lin had heard that Ren brought a small boy back due to a protection detail and wanted to check on the two. When she opened the door, she saw Ren holding onto the boy. She grew slightly concerned. She saw Ren was becoming very attached quickly. She didn't know what she was going to do about the situation. She quickly closed the door and left the two alone. She quickly made her way to a phone to call Sky. In the room Ren continued to hold onto Hakoda as if someone was going to yank him out of her arms. She started to feel her eyes get tired, so she started to close them but still held onto Hakoda. A couple hours later Sky came to the island with a file on Hakoda, but didn't have a pleased look on his face. He began to look for Ren when Lin pulled him to their room on the island. Sky sighed and started to massage his temples. He handed Lin the file.
"He has no one. It was just the two of them. She is already attached to this kid and he is already attached to her. I have no clue what I'm going to do with him. You know how Ren gets with things like this. The poor kid lost what little he had and now he is on his own. I have to do something with him. I need some form of feedback here," Sky said.
"Take him in. Make him a Beifong. Lin made you a Beifong maybe you should give this boy a chance and bring him into the family," Su said.
Sky turned his head and looked at his aunt for a moment. He thought about how he was brought into the family and given a chance. He looked in at Ren and the sleeping child, but hesitated. He didn't know how Ren would react. He sighed and looked at the two women before walking away. He would deal with the issue when Ren woke up. He didn't expect his first week as chief to be so stressful. He placed his hands over his face before he looked up to a cup of tea. He looked at Pema for minute with a smile. He took the tea and sat it next to him before he heard Ren come into the courtyard. He looked at her for a moment before he patted the space next to him. Ren sat down and looked at him, but didn't say anything. When Sky handed her the file she was hesitant to open it. When she finally opened it she saw that Hakoda was all alone. She sighed as she closed the folder. She started to get lost in her thoughts when she felt someone touch her hand. She looked up to see her mother standing in front of her. She stood up and pushed past her, running away from everyone. She was so frustrated with everything. Aki was taking everything from everyone. Ren didn't even know what her motive was. Did Aki even truly have a motive or was she just being her usual self? She didn't know what to do. She soon felt something run into her leg. She looked down and saw one of the lemurs. She huffed and tried to get away from the animal. Someone grabbed her hand and she turned around to see Hakoda behind her. She was so distracted with her surrounding that she wasn't paying attention. She smiled at him, but it quickly faded when the hairs on the back of her neck started to stand up.
She grabbed Hakoda and turned around. She felt something burn her back, and she started to yell through her teeth. Ren picked Hakoda up and started to run. She felt her back start to burn again, and she dropped. She turned onto her side to find Aki walking toward her. Aki had a smile on her face, but Ren wasn't going to give up so easily. She shot a flame at Aki as she tried to get up. She grabbed Hakoda, making him stand behind her. Aki laughed at Ren, but she didn't care. Aki shot a lightning bolt at Ren and she redirected into the sky. Ren made a barrier out of earth and pushed it at Aki before she pushed Hakoda toward the courtyard. He started to run as Aki and Ren battled. Ren stomped, detaching the barrier from the ground and sent it toward Aki. Aki jumped over it, sending two balls of fire at Ren. Ren spun the air around her to make the two fire balls disappear. Aki kicked sending a long wave across the ground. Ren tried to use the earth to protect herself, but failed. Aki took it as an opportunity to go after Hakoda. She started to propel herself with her firebending. Ren tried to get up, but fell to the ground. She got up and started to use her airbending to propel herself. Aki saw Hakoda running and tried to hit him with a fire ball. She missed but Hakoda fell and was scrambling to get back up. Ren saw Hakoda on the ground and Aki about to throw another fire ball at him. She used her airbending to propel herself right into Aki. Ren felt a burning sensation on her side, but she continued to propel herself into Aki. Ren slammed the two into the middle of the courtyard, and rolled away from Aki. Everyone ran into the courtyard when they heard the crash. Ren used her waterbending to pull the water out of the fountain.
She made a shield around herself out of ice and started to punch it. The ice started to fly toward Aki but she used her fire to melt it. Suddenly Ren saw her shield shatter and another blast of fire heading her way. Before she could react she was knocked back. Ren tried to get back up, but Aki kicked sending a large flame that knocked Ren down again. Ren swung her cables across the ground in Aki's direction. She watched Aki fall to the ground, but Aki still managed to get up. Ren pushed off the ground and looked at Aki, hoping she couldn't tell that she was about to collapse. Aki looked at Ren and laughed before she looked at Iroh II. She looked at him for a while longer before she laughed again. Ren stood there, trying to stay standing.
"Oh, daddy don't look so surprised that I did this. Think about everything that has happened the last twenty years. Think about how I have treated Ren her whole life. Does this really surprise anyone? Ren you should just give up now. You can hardly stand after one fight with me. I'm sure certain ancestors would be happy. You've always been so weak Ren. Until next time," Aki said propelling herself with her firebending off the island.
Ren made a fist, and took a step to try and follow Aki. She quickly fell to the ground, and began to breathe heavily. She tried to push up, but fell again. Kya ran over to her as Ren continued to try and push herself off the ground. Ren no longer had the strength to try and get up. She laid on the ground, only looking at Kya. She was breathing heavily and trying to stay awake. Iroh watched Ren, wondering how Aki could do something like this to her. Hakoda tried to run over to her, but Pema picked him up. Kya looked at the burns Aki had given Ren and thought about what she could do without causing her any pain. REn started to groan as she tried to move.
"Hey, don't move. You're pretty badly burnt. Aki did a real number on you," Kya said.
Ren looked at Kya for a moment before she tried to stand again. When She was finally able to stand she took a few steps. She started to see black spots in her vision. She continued to take a few steps before she fell to the ground. Kya ran over to her to find her unconscious. She started to lightly tap her face and call her name. When nothing happened one of the airbenders helped Kya get Ren into the healing room. Once Ren and Kya were in the healing room Kya worked her miracles as most called it. They all hoped for the best, and waited for the news. They knew that's all they could do at the time. Sky had decided while Ren was in the healing room that they would take Hakoda in. She would wake up to the arrival of the documents to him becoming a Beifong.