A/N: Warning; Some mature content ahead. Things are implied. That being said, they are just implied. Nothing is that graphic, frankly I don't enjoy writing torture, and I never will write it. But I do want to let people know, you may want to be cautious reading this. Nevertheless, enjoy, read and review, you know the drill. :)
Lin walked down the stairs of the building, wiping her forehead free of the thin bead of sweat that had built up. It had been a long day.
She'd meant to talk to Mako after the interrogation, but the boy had been understandably shell-shocked. He could probably do with a bit of ease and relaxation. Hell, so did she. The difference was that he had friends to force him to do that.
Something about that interrogation was off though. Whenever she had seen Zaheer he had been closed off, secretive and mystical in his knowledge about the Spirit World. But in there, he had been open, actively taunting Mako and Lin with what he knew. And asking about the detective's family? What had that been about?
The only thing he had not taken with demented glee was when Mako sprung the question of Shin La upon him. For that, she had to give him credit. He had looked like he was going to crack. Korra could see it as clearly as she did, and even though she had stopped her from getting him out of that hostile environment she couldn't lie that she'd had the same thought herself.
But he had stuck with it, earning Zaheer's cryptic reply. That spirit friend, she thought. Something was rubbing her up the wrong way.
And then she turned to the left, and something clicked.
It may have been to do with the body. Immediately she ran towards the suspected victim, keeping her guard up as she did so. It was... strange, unlike anything she had ever seen before. His skin was crumpled, his hair gray and wispy. He looked like he was at the end of his mortal journey, an old man ready for death. But what was most alarming was the fact that he was wearing a police uniform. She looked down at his badge and then it made sense.
He was the one who she had put in charge of keeping an eye on Zaheer. The last time she had seen him he was a young man. A chance encounter with him had led to this.
There had been a reason Zaheer hadn't been himself in that room. It was because that was indeed the case. Zaheer was there, but someone else was pulling the strings. And she had a creeping suspicion of who that was.
She sent her cohorts to the jail cell, dreading what they would find, but unsurprised as they did so. She checked her watch. It was the middle of the night. Call it a hunch, she thought, but whoever had been in there had an interest in Mako. And the Avatar.
She wasted no more time in hitting the streets. She could only pray that she was wrong.
"I know that you still might be reeling from this whole situation. And I know that I said for you to think about it. But since you took your sweet time waking up, and the fact that I am always on a nightly clock, I must insist you give me an answer."
Korra looked up at the phantom menace. He walked casually, his head down and his hands clasped behind his back. Smoke seemed to roll off him in waves as he circled his two gagged captives. She looked between the two of them, and even with just their eyes the message was clear.
Pick me, they said. Pick me. Don't let them die. The two of them, so determined to save the other, so determined to spare her pain.
"I can't," Korra said simply, her voice low and soft. "I can't. I won't choose between two of the people closest to me. So why don't you just do what we both know you truly want. Kill me. Let them go. They don't deserve the hate you hold for me. Kill me, please. But let them go," she said, her voice growing ever more desperate. "Kill me!"
"I am killing you, Korra," Shin La smirked, leaning down to look into her clear blue eyes. "Just with more unorthodox methods. Killing you does not mean your death. You cannot truly perish. You will live on, in the head of the world's next appointed saviour. No, killing you is taking away what makes you feel alive. The emotion you feel, the people you love. Without that, you are a husk, devoid of the things that make life worthwhile. That is how I want you to suffer, Avatar. That is how I am going to kill you."
Korra looked around helplessly. Her arms were bound and her hands cuffed. Zip ties. Something she couldn't wriggle out of, not without notice anyway. She spared a glance at Shin La and found only narcissistic glee watching her. "So what will it be?" he asked again, the mask of Bolin's face not disguising the sadistic pleasure Shin La was receiving from the situation. "Asami, the ever present rock of support and love. She loves you wholeheartedly, of course. Unsure whether it is romantic or not. Also grieving for her dear departed dad. A lot of trauma she isn't talking about."
At this Asami bit down on the gag, furiously trying to turn her head and glare at the demon. It wasn't enough that he had captured them. He had to strip their secrets bare too, leaving nothing to hide from his gloating judgement.
At this defiance, Shin La grabbed the woman's hair and pushed the blade closer to her throat, ignoring Korra's plea to leave her alone. The tip slightly pressed against her windpipe until a small spot of blood could be seen at the edge of the knife. "Shush, shush," he soothed, his tone betraying his actions. "Little girl, the adults are talking. I would appreciate silence. And if I do not get it, I'll bleed you, real quiet, and leave you in a puddle of your own blood. A sight Korra would not soon forget. Please, be quiet, Ms. Sato," he said, while looking to Korra's anxious expression. "I think that would be best for all of us."
And then, Bolin's form dropped her head and turned to Mako, the grin back on his face. "Or you can choose Mako. Loyal, handsome Mako. No such hesitation regarding his feelings, my dear. Harbours an intense jealousy of Asami right now. Ah, adolescent angst. You know, I do get the feeling that if Bolin wasn't currently screaming in the cavern of his own mind right now, he'd laugh and come up with a witty joke about him being in the most stable relationship. But I digress, Avatar. You must choose. Now."
Korra lowered her head. It seemed hopeless. She couldn't even rattle her wrists against her restraints for fear of invoking Shin La's wrath. She could only hope to keep him talking and pray for that someone, somewhere was on their way to help.
"What did I do to you?" she wondered out loud. Even though there was a sickening feeling rooted in her stomach, she was genuinely curious. "You hate me. Hate me enough to do all this just to hurt me. What could I have possibly done to deserve all this?" she asked desperately.
She wasn't expecting Shin La's reaction.
The smile vanished off Bolin's face. "You know," he said, his voice losing the mocking tone he had reserved for the taunting he had inflicted. "You've always known. No creature could forget the torment you brought me."
"What was it?" Korra asked, louder this time. For the first time since she'd faced him, Shin La didn't look composed. He seemed... panicked? No, not panic. Insecurity was more like it. Anxiousness. Fear. "I'm sorry for whatever I did but I don't remember. Please, let me go. Let us go. We can talk about this-"
"No," he snarled, and suddenly shadow erupted from Bolin's face as the spirit's voice grew more agitated. "I wasn't talking to you," he stressed again, waving the knife at her. "She knows. It knows."
"What are you talking about?" she said again, feeling confused, all the while her hands twisted against the zip ties. It was bitter work, but if she could keep him talking...
"You are but the vessel, Korra," Bolin's guise growled. "But that witch inside you..."
Korra shook her head, struggling to understand. The looks on Asami and Mako's faces indicated that they had no idea what he was talking about. And then it hit her.
"Wait, you mean Raava?"
"DO NOT SPEAK HER NAME!" Shin La's voice boomed, and this time Bolin's face cracked, his skin like glass straining against the entity inside. In an instant the knife whirled in his hands and he plunged it into Mako's shoulder, eliciting a muffled scream from the firebender. "Don't. You. Dare."
Korra sat terribly transfixed, watching Mako thrash as Shin La twisted the blade inside his flesh. Her pleas to release him fell on deaf ears. Before, Shin La was scary but now... he looked absolutely terrifying. She could only watch as his dead eyed stare trained on her like a hawk as he effortlessly subdued Mako while ignoring his cries of pain. The fact that the figure of Bolin was inflicting such pain on his brother made it all the more frightening.
She had seen him calm, collected, controlled. She had seen him smug and mocking. She had even seen a hint of fear from the phantom once when she went into the Avatar State. But what she saw now was rage. Cold, deep and black as the night sky, so powerful and all consuming that Bolin's body didn't look like it was able to contain him. Sharp serrated teeth poked out of his mouth, white long fangs way too extensive to fit inside a human mouth. It felt like a storm had erupted inside the warehouse, building and crackling with tension. Tendrils began to poke out of the eartbender's back, his clothes rippling and tearing as Shin La's monstrous form frothed in uncontrollable anger.
And all the while, those black eyes bulged at Korra, harsh, shadowy marks stretching the fabric of Bolin's skin as the spirit glared at her in all his dark, malevolent fury.
And then, suddenly, he ripped the knife out of Mako's shoulder.
For second the only sound that could be heard was Mako's ragged breathing against the gag, no doubt recovering from the wound Shin La had just inflicted. The wind that had cascaded into the room vanished as quickly as it appeared, and when Bolin looked up again, his face was back to normal, the dark eyes the only sign of his current possession.
"Hmmm," Shin La seemed to mutter to himself. He looked at the blood on the knife, before he then used the sleeve of Bolin's shirt to clean it. He sighed, before turning back again to the Avatar.
"It seems I have just lost my temper," he said, and the words were so calmly spoken, a stark contrast to the monstrous tone he had just been utilising. Now, he spoke with a voice as soft as velvet, the little lull hiding the shadowy growl. "That does not happen often. But you," he gestured to her with the knife. "You must have a habit of infuriating me."
Korra stared right back at him, the shock in her eyes long gone only to be replaced by fury. He easily could have killed Mako in his ranting. She didn't have to speak. The message was clear.
"Hatred," he pondered, "Makes us do terrible things."
"Cut the crap, Shin La," she replied bluntly. He wanted her to be afraid, to be helpless. She wouldn't give him that. "Why are you really doing this?"
He chuckled at her brashness. "You always say the same things in this time. Who are you? Why are you doing this? Such inquisitive little creatures. I remember mortals so differently. They called me Baba Yaga. The Boogeyman. A title, a name. As if giving me a label would make me any less dangerous. Instead of wondering why I came to their doorsteps they crawled into their beds, frightened and afraid, hiding beneath the covers like their scratchy little blankets were the only thing protecting them. Oh, but you were so primitive back then, weren't you?"
Korra huffed at this, but her plan was working. She had to keep him talking, and not let him see what she was attempting to do. He had already lost control once. She didn't want to see what would happen if he did it again.
Not yet.
"I don't understand why that-"
"Exactly," Shin La cut in; waving his finger at her like he was disciplining a child. "You don't understand. That's all you humans ever try to do now. Understand. Comprehend. And if you can't you say why the sky is blue or why up is the opposite of down... No. You need a theory of everything to explain what is just beyond your grasp. And even when you can't explain, it doesn't stop you. The harvesting of the spirit vines was proof of that. Kuvira was the first. She won't be the last."
"What?" Korra asked incredulously, even momentarily stopping her attempt to escape. "That's why you're doing this? The Spirit Vines? I had nothing to do with that! We've dealt with the one responsible. Targeting me will get you nothing!"
"My dear sweet naive little girl," Shin La grinned. "I couldn't care less about that spirits-forsaken tree. You think that is why I am choosing this course of action? No, the original sin warrants a far more damning execution."
The Avatar sighed, exasperated by his cryptic speech. "You keep talking about the past. Something I did to you. What could I have done to make you despise me so much?"
The spirit studied her with a curious gaze, one hand stroking the scruff on Bolin's chin. "Perhaps I will tell you. Yes, I will tell you a story. A story of how one man can drive another to insanity."
With that, Shin La slowly walked towards her, before kneeling down and crossing his legs. It was too civil, Korra thought. If it weren't for the gags and the restraints you could almost think he was friendly.
"You took something from me, Avatar," he stated, eyes trained on hers. "Removed it from me. And that, that made me suffer. You sealed me away for two thousand years. Now, if I was a proper omniscient being, as most spirits are, then time would have no meaning. Those years would drift by, like water down a river. But not me, no. I was left in a desert of my own making, walking for miles and miles inside my own head, searching for a way out and never finding any. Imagine a person is sealed away, and all he can see is darkness. Not the normal dark, the kind where your vision is muddled. No, total blackout. He opens his eyes but finds nothing but shadow. He knows he can't see so he tries to reach out, to fumble around but his limbs won't budge. He calls for help. He knows he is because he can feel his lips moving. He's screaming now, screaming himself hoarse for help that he knows is never coming. Or at least he thinks he is, because he can hear nothing. He's left blind, crippled and deaf, trapped in the endless prison of his mind. He tries to think but desperation sinks in. His thoughts begin to muddle and his brain turns to mush, until time has no meaning. He can't sleep because he is perpetually kept awake by the tricks his consciousness plays on him. Imagine that for two thousand years," he growls, his voice becoming more bestial again, his anger starting to rise.
There was a pause, and Korra was about to speak before he cuts her off again. "Two thousand years, Korra," he said, his voice somehow becoming angrier yet hollow. "Two thousand years of insanity. Of begging for mercy, for an end to the pain. Until he can barely string a sentence together. Words have no meaning. Actions have no consequences. He goes mad, crazy, insane!" Shin La snarls, his teeth bared and Bolin's face started to crack again as Shin La became ever more unhinged. "Until he has no choice. The darkness that surrounds him is everything. It is his god, his devil, his only salvation. He gives himself over to it, unwittingly and unwillingly because he is no longer able to think."
The way he spoke was that of a ghost story. Like a soldier coming back from war describing the horrors they had faced, like the things they'd seen were stuck with them, branded into their hearts.
"And then, one day, he doesn't know which, he gets it. He has spent so many years of creeping into minds when they are asleep, and combined with his endless awareness he finally figures out how to possess them. How to sneak into someone's mind in their waking hours. And that one moment of clarity allows him to remember who put him there."
Suddenly, without warning, Shin La looked up again, those black eyes boring into Korra's soul. "So whenever the walls of his mind begin to burst and desperation starts to creep in, he clings to that one thought of revenge like a buoy in an endless ocean of madness. One measly grain of hope to make sure his threadbare coherent functions don't snap. He goes back and forth, to and fro, delving into lunacy and sanity, thrown around, scattered to the winds of his mind. He spends an eternity inside his own psyche. The sheer size of infinity takes its toll. And then, one day, it's too much."
Korra wanted to say she was sorry. She wanted to say that it wasn't her fault, that whatever had happened before, however wrong, was a deed from the past. But the words wouldn't leave her throat.
"He gives up," Shin La says simply, his fury seemingly spent, his eyes finally leaving hers and looking somewhere far, far away. "All he can do is conjure one last silent scream and then he is gone, lost forever to the rolling waves of lunacy. Only this time, he hears something. That silent scream isn't so silent this time. He weeps, because surely it is some cruel trick of the mind, a crushing hallucination. But then he feels the droplets on his face. He moves to wipe them off and finds his arms responding. And then finally, he opens his eyes."
And now the smile returned, and Shin La picked himself up off the floor, twirling the knife in his fingers again. "Do you know what he saw, Avatar?" he laughs, mocking her title. "He saw the darkness again. Total blackout, but all the colours ever present. And it was wonderful," he smiled at the recollection. "He can see the purple in the sky again. He can feel the swish of the air around him. He goes to remember who he is and lo and behold he can. And that one thought remains, Avatar. He remembered who put him there. I remembered who put me there."
As he spoke, he slid the knife so close to Asami's neck, before his arm rose to her face as he cut the gag off of her mouth. "Who do you think put me there, Ms. Sato?" he said, the back of his hand caressing her cheek as she breathed heavily, finally able to heave and fill her lungs. "Answer; she did."
And with that, he shoved the blade into her ear, eliciting a scream from the woman. It wasn't meant to damage her. Korra knew that. It was meant to hurt.
There was a reason he had removed the gag. It was to hear her cries of despair, like music to his borrowed ears. The image of Bolin smirking down as he slowly poked and prodded her ear with the sharp tip of the blade would stay with her for the rest of her days.
"And thus, story time is over," the villain announced with a flourish, leaping over the two captives to leer at the Avatar behind them. "That is why I hate you, Avatar. That is why I am going to kill one of these two tonight. I could say that I do not relish the opportunity, but I would be lying," he laughed, casually wiping the dry blood off the knife into Asami's hair. "Make my day, Avatar. Make my day."
Korra inwardly cursed. The zip ties were coming undone, but she needed more time!
The terrible reality of the situation dawned on her.
She had to choose, here and now. Take the lives of two of the people she held closest to her heart and measure them against each other. Any hope that Bolin could fight Shin La's influence had long since been crushed. He'd stabbed Mako in the shoulder with his brother's fingers. If he could so effortlessly torment him then the odds of him resisting the demon's control were slim to none.
She could hear them, withdrawn as she was. Asami, free from her gag, telling her to pick Mako. Let her die, she said. I've got no one else anyway.
You're wrong, she thought. You've got me. You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong...
Mako, still gagged, was shaking his head. The message was clear. Let me die. I'm all alone. Nobody will miss me. Not anymore.
I'll miss you. I... I need you. I still... I still...
She wondered how she could read him so well, read them so well. And then she got it.
The last few weeks she had wrestled with the feelings inside her, the emotions that either made her feel butterflies in her stomach or ground said butterflies into a mosh pit of anxiety. All that time, wondering, who did she love? Was it him? Was it her?
It was both.
So crystal clear, that realisation. She loved them both. Mako, her handsome, loyal ex-boyfriend. He'd let her down several times before. He'd never let her down again.
Asami, that sad, lonely, beautiful woman. She didn't want to be saved from her own depression, her own grief. What she wanted wasn't what she needed.
She couldn't choose. She couldn't.
I have to. He'll kill them both otherwise.
A leap of faith then. Maybe Bolin could battle the demon inside. He valued Mako's life more than anything in the world, except maybe Opal. He couldn't kill his own brother, surely?
She tried to tell herself that that was a rational point. That she wasn't taking a naive hope as justification for letting the firebender die.
Bolin will never forgive you. Not only will he have killed his own brother, you'll have ordered him to do it.
Shin La's voice was insidious, even as he stood silent, the amused expression as she couldn't decide.
Your best friend in the world. Maybe your future lover. How could you live without her?
Korra tried to struggle against the zip ties one last time. Seeing the movement, Shin La brought his knife to bear at Asami's throat.
No way out. No compromise. No Avatar State to save her. Just one choice. One terrible, terrible choice.
Korra opened her mouth to speak, with no idea of the words that were about to come out.
"I... I choose..." she stuttered, a sob welling up in her chest. Shin La leaned forward in anticipation, the blade raised, poised to strike. "I choose A... M... I choose-"
And then in an instant the blade fell.
Korra looked forward in shock as the knife clattered to the floor as Bolin's body crashed into the shelves of the warehouse. She, along with Mako and Asami, could only look at the source of the strike.
And there Opal stood, like a guardian angel in tracksuit gear.
She wasted no words, didn't ask for an explanation. All she saw was the knife, the arm coiled to strike and she had reacted. Instinct had kicked in and she blew the stranger away in an instant. She leaped over the Avatar and positioned herself between the attacker and his hostages.
She had done the most important thing. She had gotten herself between the victims and the soon to be killer.
And then that soon to be killer raised his head, and Opal saw the face of her beloved leering back at her, with bloodstains on the cuff of his shirt.
"Bo-Bolin?" she asked worriedly, her voice starting to show telltale signs of panic. "What's going on?"
The scene made no sense to her. Korra, Mako and Asami, all tied up like hostages. Bolin, up until a moment ago, was smirking down at them with the bloody knife about to unwind a mortal coil. And Bolin, her sweet, loving Bolin, his face contorted with black, cracked marks and deep, dark eyes.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her tone raised as the earthbender picked himself up off the floor. "This... this doesn't make sense!"
"Does it need to?" he leered at her, with that face so unnatural on him. "This is all just a little bit of role-play. You can join in! I'll take you bloody as well, if you want. I like my meat rare."
The way he spoke made her sick. "That's not Bolin!" she heard Korra shout, desperation evident in her speech. "He's been possessed by some spirit!"
That realisation didn't help Opal. If anything, she wanted to vomit at the knowledge. A spirit had forced its way into Bolin's body. It had made him torture and abuse his dearest friends. And now it was rifling through their most private and intimate moments like it was an amusing mover to watch.
Unconsciously, without even realising, she took an airbending stance.
"Back off," she warned, arms in front of her, legs bent ready to spring into action. She never thought she'd ever have to do this against her boyfriend, possessed or not.
Shin La seemed to stare at her with perverse glee. "Oh, this is splendid," he sneered, genuinely enjoying the turn in the night's events. "This is magnificent! I thought that I would only kill one tonight. But for you, my dear, I shall make an exception."
And with that he leaped at her, arms reared back to crush her against the ground. She back-flipped away as his fists came down, the concrete floor cracking under the earthbender's power. There was no respite as he ripped the floor up and flung it at her as she somersaulted away. She responded by unleashing a mini-tornado at him, gathering up boxes and materials inside the warehouse and launching them at Shin La. It twisted and turned, the wind buffeting him and the items pelting him with reckless abandon.
He swatted them away like flies, walking effortlessly through the hurricane. He jumped for her again and only through her speed was she able to evade him, elevating herself to the tops of the shelves, giving herself a welcome breather.
This was unnatural. Bolin was strong, yes. But not as insanely powerful as it seemed now. She could feel the dark energy radiating off him as he made to corner her.
"Sweet little Opal," Bolin said. No, she thought. This wasn't Bolin. This was something demented, born from the depths of despair, using the form of her beloved to do his dirty work. She had to remember that. "The airbending prodigy. Flexible, I see. Bolin chose well."
He fired a rock at her and she dodged, leaping from shelf to shelf, trying to use the darkness to her advantage. She was different from the others, the ghost mused. Whereas the others faced him directly, utilising brute force as a starting tactic, she was more strategic. She knew that she was at a disadvantage. In a straight up brawl, her agility would fail against his enhanced strength. Instead of being out in the open air, where her bending would be more potent, she was stuck in the confines of the four massive walls. He had to admire her intelligence. The boy really did choose well.
Maybe one day he would be able to get over her.
"Clever girl," he chuckled, following her into the wrecked labyrinth the warehouse had become. "Using darkness as your ally. But how can you use the darkness when I am the darkness?"
The shelf toppling over him was her only answer. Shin La didn't even move; he merely thrust his hand up and a column rose to meet it. "You see, I admire your thinking," he continued as if nothing had happened. "But you are at a severe disadvantage, my girl. Your blade is dulled. You wish to incapacitate, in a vain hope of reclaiming the one you love with minimal damage. But I have no such qualms. I know exactly what I am going to do to you."
And as he spoke, the ground began to bubble. The windows covered in cloth began to fog as the temperature started to rise. And then the concrete churned and lava erupted from the earth, ripping the metal joints of the shelves apart as they crashed to the ground, removing Opal's places to hide. With the molten rock destroying everything beneath her, she could only leap forward as her vantage point crumbled.
She leapt right into Shin La's waiting grip.
He caught her with one outstretched arm, grabbing her throat and squeezing, before slamming her into the ground. Her head rocked and her vision swam as she was pressed into the stone. Bolin's form towered over her, kneeling down to lock her in place. Those evil, black eyes gloated at her as his fingers began to crush her neck.
"The last time you were in this position it was quite different," he laughed, tapping the side of his head in amusement. "At least you both enjoyed it. It's going to be the last good memory he ever has of you."
She screamed, but only a hoarse whisper came out. Her hands fumbled, grasping at air, looking for something to strike him as her vision dulled. She could hear his voice, but it was murky, like trying to listen to someone through water. She could only make out a few words.
"I'm going to tear your throat out, Opal. I'm going to tear it right out. And then I'm going to leave Bolin's body and let him look into your null, dead eyes and allow him to think about what he's done."
And then her breath caught, and she couldn't breathe... oh spirits, she couldn't breathe... and then a tugging sensation... and then... then...
And then her vision returned. Air caught in her lungs and she swallowed it gratefully, coughing, retching, and still feeling the stretch marks along her throat. She gulped in the oxygen, feeling her limbs start to respond and shake off the numbness. She looked up to see her saviour.
Lin Beifong stood in front of her, ready to take on the spirit, her eyes locked on the phantom. "Get the hell away from my niece," she snarled.
"I will when she is in a puddle of her own blood staining the floor," he answered instantly. Arms outstretched, the epitome of arrogance, he invited her to attack.
The old woman was strong. She had to be, to throw him off the young airbender so swiftly. But she was ignorant, and blinded by rage. The younger one knew not to rush him head on. The elder had not learnt that lesson. All she saw was the potential killer of her family.
She threw her cable at him, scoring a direct hit as it wrapped round his arm. But instead of pulling him off balance like she thought it would, he merely chuckled as he pulled her forward, right into his waiting arms.
He caught her and slammed the police chief into the pavement, similarly to the young airbender. "We meet once more, Beifong," he smiled, and again he pressed his hand to her throat. "But this time will be the last, I- Uuuggghhh!"
In all his mockery, he had failed to notice something. She was not a kid made to fight an adult's war. She'd been through a lot over the years. She'd been through it all. Underneath the battle hardened visage lay a shrewd tactician. She had spent a lot of years in the police force. She may not have knowledge of his form, but she knew his kind. And she, unlike the others, knew how to fight dirty.
So, instead, she didn't give him time to talk. She remained silent, bending the metal beside her around her fist. And then she smashed her hand right into Bolin's temple.
The phantom reeled from the blow, stumbling back as she kicked him in the chest. "You may get our strengths," she mused. "But you also get our weaknesses. And that weakness right now is being boxed in the face."
Lin followed the retort with a stinging uppercut to the chin. Bolin's strength was amplified by the spirit, but the makeshift metal gloves she used were more than enough to daze him. She gave him no respite, grabbing his shirt so she could unleash a flurry of bombastic jabs to the face. While Shin La could control Bolin's movements, he could do nothing about the damage his body was taking. For once, the spirit had no answer.
With one last crack around the head, the form of Bolin finally went down.
There was silence as everyone stared at the police chief. And then, sighs of relief. She'd managed to do what none of the rest had been able to do. Defeat Shin La.
But Shin La wasn't a good loser.
Korra barely had time to warn Lin as the spectral figure rose from Bolin's unconscious body. "Nicely done," he appraised her as she turned around to face him once more. "But ultimately you have wrought nothing."
Once more she swung at him, but this time she stood no chance. Her fist passed harmlessly through his body, like she was fighting in slow motion. He caught her hand, and the crack of bones could be heard right before Lin's pained grunt. With relative ease, he twisted her arm behind her back and brought his other hand to the base of her neck.
"An entertaining show," he said, his deep voice rumbling down her spine. "But it is time for the curtain to fall."
But as she'd been watching, finally the zip ties came loose. And Korra was finally able to rejoin the fight.
She launched a cavalcade of fire whips at the phantom, not doing enough to hurt him but allowing Lin to escape his grip. Using her metalbending, she took control of the materials scattered around and they followed her command. Even so, he laughed at her defiance. "What was that supposed to do?" he said, gesturing to all of them. "Look at you. The finest benders of the age and all defeated so piteously. How can you hope to defeat me?"
"Enough talking," she replied simply, her arms thrust out in motion. "It's time you saw the light."
He grinned at her threat, but for once Shin La's hubris had gotten the best of him. Because instead of her crashing the metal down, she did the opposite. She thrust upwards, all of that heavy metal slamming into the fragile ceiling.
And finally, Shin La faced the tyranny of the sun.
The big, fiery star's rays shone into the warehouse, the ghost's haven of darkness destroyed before his very eyes. Shin La doubled over in pain, his body contorting and twisting unnaturally. He growled at them but the sounds he made weren't ordinary. His snarls became high pitched screams as the light tore through his real form. His face became a monstrous nightmare, switching between the handsome guise he used and the horrific vestiges of his true form.
Team Avatar just watched as the demon began turn to ash.
But even in the face of outstanding sunlight, Shin La could find security.
The group watched as he writhed uncontrollably, leaping as fast as he could into the shadow in the corner, the space tiny but sufficient to hold him. Asami made to move forward but Korra held her back.
"No," she explained. "We have to leave while we still can. He can't survive in the sun. But if we follow him into that corner, we won't come out again." Noticing their wounds, she knew what had to be done. "We have to go to the hospital."
The group left, Mako leaning on Lin's shoulder and Opal patching up Asami's ear as they walked. Korra was about leave with them, carrying Bolin on her shoulder when she heard the telltale, lulling voice.
"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered as she stared into the corner of shade. "Why can't you just die?"
It might have been her imagination, but she could see his face smiling back at her. "Oh, believe me, I came close," he chuckled, but with a wince in his words. "In a normal world, I would have already crumbled into ash from the sun's wrath. The fact that I was able to survive for such a minuscule time shows how much stronger I have gotten. So, yes I came close to my end there. But so did you, Korra. The difference is that instead of licking my wounds and bathing myself in petty comfort I will learn from this. I will grow stronger as a result. Will you?"
She narrowed her eyes at his taunting gaze. "We stopped you now. We'll do it again."
He chuckled at her naivety. "You are only alive because I like to torment my victims before I make the final blow," he said. "I could have killed you any time I had you throughout the night. And I must admit, I am glad that Lin showed up when she did. It makes the next few events that more memorable."
"What do you mean?" she asked skeptically. She knew she shouldn't be indulging the spirit, but they knew very little about him. Any new information he might let slip was vital.
"Do you know how Bolin reacted when he thought you were going to choose to save Asami?" he asked, catching her off guard. "He begged for me to let himself die instead, and when you stuttered, he had hope, especially when it sounded like you were going to say his name. But then, even if he did not mean it, a wave of hatred filled his heart. The Avatar, the icon of hope and justice, letting his brother die so casually."
"You sick, psychotic son of a bitch," she replied, anger starting to build. "You think I did that so easily?!"
"Oh, I know it was hard. It was meant to be. And Bolin knows that too. But it does not change the fact that you humans are so easily manipulated, your emotions so easily tangled up like strings. And it does not change the fact that I am going have much more fun with what I have planned next."
"You see, I could just kill you," he said, cutting Korra off before she could retort. "I could ground your friend's bones into dust and scatter them to the winds. But even with that anguish, it is too sudden. No, I have found a better solution. Your friendship means so much to you, that ever reliable network of love and compassion. I am going to make them hate you. I am going to make them curse your very existence. I am going to literally tear you apart from the inside."
"You won't," she replied, shaking her head resolutely. "I'm sorry for all that you have suffered. But you will not hurt the ones I love."
"I already have," Shin La mused, the pain in his voice gone, replaced by amusement. "And I will continue to do so. But first, I will let you continue in your pathetic little lives. I will allow you precious time to scramble to stop me. I will give you hope, a belief that will you be able to foil me. And, when I return for you, and I will, I will show you how much that hope is worth. And I will not fail a second time."
"I'll stop you. I will protect my friends."
"How can you protect them when you can't even protect yourself?" he retorted, before his face disappeared. And Korra was left with a lot of questions and not that much answers.
He wanted to break her, not just physically but emotionally too. He wanted to destroy her very reasons for living. And he meant what he said.
She trudged after her friends, vowing that he would fail.
Fifth chapter up. Longest one yet, I believe. And in three weeks. I think that will be the longest I ever go without updating. If you don't hear from me, feel free to PM me. It'll make sure I'm not dead. :)
Next time, we'll have the aftermath and some more explaining of Shin La's true form. Hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am.